Drug Design?

[ChemE 1112]

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Hello I am new to the forums. I am currently in my first year of a Chemical engineering. In pursuing this degree, I wanted to work in the creation of new medicines. My question is as follows. What is the field that you would get into to design new medicines? What is the major you would choose? and finally, Is Pharamacy school the correct way to go when it comes to drug design, or would I be better off going with a ChemE, BioChemE, BioChem, Chem, or BioE degree?

 

[kmoogs]

As a BioChemE and BioE ... I'll have to say BioE is not the typical direction you are looking for. That being said, BioE is currently a very broad and unfocused field ... it really depends on the school and faculty interests. Each school/BioE department has its own vision and direction for how they perceive BioE which is then reflected in the curriculum and their research. For example, UDub has a program in Pharmaceutical Bioengineering. At my school (not UDub but a highly respected institution), none of the core Bioengineering faculty were remotely interested in drug design or drug discovery. There were a couple affiliated faculty involved with those research areas but they were already based in the School of Pharmacy. My experiences with BioE is that its a subjective case that varies from program to program.

Are you looking to fit into a traditional drug discovery role?

 

[MrMeowphers]

if you want to do drug-design then you will need to pursue a PhD.

And in order to attain your PhD, it doesn't matter what scientific field you get your bachelors in because a good portion of your research training will occur during graduate school (and more during your post-doctorate training).

PhD's in Pharmacology and Biochemistry are obviously highly sought after due to their expertise in molecular pathways, etc. However, non-traditional routes are also enjoyed with Immunology, etc. so that you can study drug interactions with various internal systems.

Albiet there are PharmD's working in industry (e.g. Biotechnology and Pharmaceutics Sectors), they are more involved in clinical studies.

Some program websites specifically state this:

If you're interested in research, apply to the graduate program.
If you're interested in the practice of pharmacy, apply to the PharmD program.

 

[adam022]

if you want to do drug-design then you will need to pursue a PhD.

And in order to attain your PhD, it doesn't matter what scientific field you get your bachelors in because a good portion of your research training will occur during graduate school (and more during your post-doctorate training).

PhD's in Pharmacology and Biochemistry are obviously highly sought after due to their expertise in molecular pathways, etc. However, non-traditional routes are also enjoyed with Immunology, etc. so that you can study drug interactions with various internal systems.

Albiet there are PharmD's working in industry (e.g. Biotechnology and Pharmaceutics Sectors), they are more involved in clinical studies.

Some program websites specifically state this:

If you're interested in research, apply to the graduate program.
If you're interested in the practice of pharmacy, apply to the PharmD program.

As a senior graduating with a BS in ChemE and headed into pharmacy school, I would have to say obtaining a PhD in ChemE at a school that concentrates on your area of interest (is reputable for studies in drug design) would probably be the best way to go. Good luck.

 

[pharmD eighty7]

I would also think that a pH.D. in Medicinal Chemistry would be a possible route. Not sure, just seems to make sense.

 

[MrMeowphers]

What the past two posters are missing is actual industry experience.

If you want to do drug-design TODAY, then the hot spots are those that specialize in Enzymology (A subsection of the vast Biochemistry). It is one of the most difficult things to study in science as it is highly mathematical based. It is the key to understanding intermediates, kinetics, turn-over, etc. for newly synthesized drugs.

What you probably do not know is the surplus of PhD's right now, which makes getting into a large Pharmaceutical company difficult. And trust me, there are more than enough PhD's doing Synthesis right now (Organic chem, analytical chem, etc.). What is lacking are people to determine whether those newly synthesized drugs actually work, whether they're harmful, what pathways (and more) do they interact with or affect...

Good luck. But then again, like I said before, there are non-traditional ways for individuals to go into drug-design and a PhD in ChemE is a possibility (you might have to do your post-doctorate in a Biochemistry lab). The reason is because the training is vastly different. Biological/Chemical Scientists actually work in the lab all the time.

 

[adam022]

What the past two posters are missing is actual industry experience.

If you want to do drug-design TODAY, then the hot spots are those that specialize in Enzymology (A subsection of the vast Biochemistry). It is one of the most difficult things to study in science as it is highly mathematical based. It is the key to understanding intermediates, kinetics, turn-over, etc. for newly synthesized drugs.

What you probably do not know is the surplus of PhD's right now, which makes getting into a large Pharmaceutical company difficult. And trust me, there are more than enough PhD's doing Synthesis right now (Organic chem, analytical chem, etc.). What is lacking are people to determine whether those newly synthesized drugs actually work, whether they're harmful, what pathways (and more) do they interact with or affect...

Good luck. But then again, like I said before, there are non-traditional ways for individuals to go into drug-design and a PhD in ChemE is a possibility (you might have to do your post-doctorate in a Biochemistry lab). The reason is because the training is vastly different. Biological/Chemical Scientists actually work in the lab all the time.

While the above post is very informative, I do have experience in the pharmaceutical industry. The company that I worked for was called Corium International, which specialized in transdermal applications and was a direct supplier to big name companies. In the research and development section of the company, many workers had PhDs in either chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacy, or a combination. If you were looking upon the lines of drug creation scale-up using chemical reactors, I would have to tell you that a BS in chemical engineering is the only thing you need and is in a much higher demand than those specialized with PhDs. That is why it is presently the highest paid bachelors degree right out of college.

 

[ChemE 1112]

While the above post is very informative, I do have experience in the pharmaceutical industry. The company that I worked for was called Corium International, which specialized in transdermal applications and was a direct supplier to big name companies. In the research and development section of the company, many workers had PhDs in either chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacy, or a combination. If you were looking upon the lines of drug creation scale-up using chemical reactors, I would have to tell you that a BS in chemical engineering is the only thing you need and is in a much higher demand than those specialized with PhDs. That is why it is presently the highest paid bachelors degree right out of college.

Now since you have worked in the Drug Design field and know what companies are looking for, I have one question. Do companies look at what you do in college(i.e. clubs, GPA, etc.) as a means of hiring. I currently have a 3.8 and I honestly do not expect it going below a 3.6 by the time I graduate. Also I am pretty active in school. Just wondering if they also look at that kinda stuff. Also you said a BS would do, but from what I hear, you need at least a MS or PhD in any kind of engineering to get hired in a big name company.

 

[PonderingChoice]

I'd just like to note that a B.S. in Chemical Engineering is pretty sweet, financially. I'm talking ~80k/year, just out of college, with just your B.S. If you find out that you're not interested in research, it's an excellent alternative to getting your M.S. or Ph.D. in some other subject.

 

[yappy]

Pondering, when it comes to some careers you are overly skeptical - here you're being overly optimistic. I know many new grads who would kill for that salary let alone a job that would utilize their chem e degree.

 

[PonderingChoice]

You're right, looking it up it's more like 70K is the average salary in your first few years. As for new Chem. E. grads looking for a job: that's not surprising, it's a big recession. I'm sure there are pharmacists looking for a job too. I also don't think my pharmacy skepticism is unwarranted: I only assume a 6% to 10% decrease in "buying power" due to stagnant wages. It's not like I'm preaching the death of the profession due to healthcare reform or automated pill dispensers. I'm just suggesting that pharmacists aren't going to have it as good as they used to: why? Because the shortage that used to exist is going to get taken care of.

 

[phathead]

All I'm going to say is that if you do go into drug design, and you design something like Prometrium 100mg I will personally come to your house and kick you square in the nuts.

Now carry on everyone lol

 

[novawildcat]

Depends on what you want to do. I worked as a medicinal chemist on the forefront of drug design. If you want to chemically work with the design of drugs, you need a chemistry degree. Even just a BS will suffice. If you want to be in charge, then you need a PhD, but beware. The market for PhDs in the biopharmaceutical industry is absolutely brutal. If you want to work with the pharmacokinetics and dynamics aspect of drug design you would be better off studying something like molecular biology, cell biology, or biochemistry. Toxicology and analytical chemistry are also other fields which you could pursue. There were PharmDs where I worked--they did mostly PK stuff. The clinic was mostly ruled by our MDs.