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Pharmaceutical Formulation and Business Strategy MSc

2023-24 (also available for 2024-25)

This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

18 September 2023

Duration

1 year full-time

Places available (subject to change)

20

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. This course offers a unique blend of science with business strategy.
  2. Career prospects are within a drug discovery development team or even start up your own business within the Pharmaceutical Industry.
  3. £18.3m has been invested in new science facilities and laboratories.

This course will help you to understand scientific principles of drug delivery and be able to design novel formulations to address current market needs and business strategies. After completion of the course, you will have the skills to start up new businesses in pharmaceutical formulation or join the formulation development team in the pharmaceutical industry .

Course detail

Core modules:

Practical skills for Analysts

Extended experiments to develop, compare and assess methods for analytical problems carried out in small groups with lab reports and oral presentations.

Pharmaceutical Business Project

The overall aim of the project is to integrate learning across all modules and apply the knowledge into business practice. You will be expected to develop a business plan for a novel pharmaceutical formulation/product or novel themes around drug discovery and present it to a panel of experts for a thorough scrutiny and assessment.

Fundamentals of Management

The Fundamentals of Management module focuses on the fundamentals of why organisations exist and what organisations ‘do’. You'll cover core aspects of the management of a company such as strategic decision making, marketing, accounting and finance, operations and human resource management. The modules provides an opportunity to develop a high-level overview of the landscape of organisations and learn about the skills required by managers in modern organisations.

Fundamentals of Leadership

The Fundamentals of Leadership module focuses on understanding leadership in organisations. You will have an opportunity to develop an appreciation of the ‘softer’ side of business such as people management, communication, leadership skills, diversity and performance management. We will encourage you to reflect on developing your own leadership skills and style and developing your own leadership solutions.

Pharmaceutical Preparations and their Testing

This module will consider the testing of drug substances and formulations in the Pharmaceutical Industry. A graduate analyst will be familiar with a wide range of analytical techniques but largely chemical in nature. This module will extend that knowledge to the testing of formulated pharmaceutical products and their other important attributes.

Formulation Design and Development

The aim of this module is to provide an in-depth appreciation of all the stages from new drug identification to bringing a drug to the market and beyond, with an emphasis on biotechnology-based products. It is divided into two integrated streams, the first being drug design. You will gain a critical appreciation of drug design and methods of discovery. Drug development will include pre-clinical, clinical and post-marketing surveillance aspects. The incorporation of advanced drug delivery strategies into current practice and future directions will be covered in detail. You will be expected to integrate and apply your knowledge and skills in the development of your own formulation supported by representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, and should be able to test the quality and performance of developed formulations in the laboratory.

Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Analysis

This module will consider the formulation of small molecules and macromolecules (e.g proteins and monoclonal antibodies) using advanced drug delivery systems. The application of advanced analytical techniques such as thermal and spectroscopic methods in drug development will also be appreciated. Latest trends in pharmaceutical development such as pharmaceutical nanotechnology and lipid based drug delivery systems will also be considered.

Option modules:

Choose one from a list which may include-

Biochemical Methods

This module provides an in-depth description of many current biochemical methods as applied to analysis. This will include you learning about DNA analysis, in particular PCR and sequencing, immunological analysis techniques and the fundamentals behind them, protein separation techniques and X-ray crystallography. There will be a combination of lectures and computer simulations.

NMR Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry for Analytical Scientists

This module provides both a broad and in depth coverage of NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. There is a large emphasis on developing your knowledge of the two techniques and you will be exposed to the most recent advances in instrumentation and their applications. You will explore advances in NMR design through a written assignment and you will also be able to demonstrate your ability to interpret spectral data in an exam.

Instrumental Methods and the Analysis of Solids

Overview of instrumental methods of analysis including atomic spectroscopy, electrochemical techniques, surface methods and radiochemical methods.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

  • Minimum of 2:2 UK honours degree or equivalent in pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences with adequate English proficiency.
  • Potential students with a non-pharmacy degree background with professional experience in pharmaceutical formulation are also encouraged to apply. However these will be considered on individual basis and may be subject to an interview.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum of IELTS is 6.0 overall with no less than 6.0 in writing and reading, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

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Equal opportunities

The University of Huddersfield is an equal opportunities institution. We aim to create conditions where staff and students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, age, race, caste, class, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, family responsibility, trade union activity, political or religious belief, or age. Please visit our website to see our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

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Students’ Union membership

Under the 1994 Education Act, students at all UK universities have the right to join, or not to join, the Students’ Union. There is no membership fee. If you choose not to join you have the right not to be disadvantaged; however, you are not entitled to vote, take part in elections, or hold any office. The following arrangements apply in order that non-Union members are not disadvantaged: Non-members are welcome to take part in the activities of Affiliated Clubs and Societies on payment of the appropriate subscription. However, they may not vote or hold office in the society or club. Union members may be offered a discounted subscription. Non-members are free to use Union facilities on the same basis as members. Welfare, catering and shops are available to non-members as well as members. Union members may be offered a discounted price.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.