Is Pharm D. the option for me?

[guytim]

Hey all

If I want develop new drugs, such as working for the FDA or other pharmaceudical companies, should I get a pharm D or another degree such as a degree in pharmaceudical science?

Sorry if this question has already been asked and thanks in advance~

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[BiOGoly]

Hey all

If I want develop new drugs, such as working for the FDA or other pharmaceudical companies, should I get a pharm D or another degree such as a degree in pharmaceudical science?

Sorry if this question has already been asked and thanks in advance~

If you want to just do benchwork you can do that with a BS or MS degree in pharmaceutical science or medicinal chemistry, etc. If you want to be a PI, you'll need to pursue a PhD. Either way, the PharmD degree isn't a research degree, it's a professional degree. Although, you can work do research in some capacity with a PharmD after completing a residency.

PharmD/PhD isn't a bad combination if you are thinking about research...you might just find that you don't like it and would rather practice pharmacy. More than a few current pharmacy students are career changers with advanced research degrees. Something to think about...

 

[cdpiano27]

You could do a PharmD followed by a fellowship but it is more for being a medical science liaison or a drug information specialist rather than a researcher, but those jobs are at the FDA and in the pharm industry.

I personally think that these jobs are infinitely better than retail.

 

[kwizard]

You could do a PharmD followed by a fellowship but it is more for being a medical science liaison or a drug information specialist rather than a researcher, but those jobs are at the FDA and in the pharm industry.

I personally think that these jobs are infinitely better than retail.

I'd agree with the previous two posts. Comparing it to retail or any other potential job market in pharmacy is difficult as it will vary on your own personal interests so I'd just keep exploring the profession to see how you want to spend your 40hrs/wk. The problem with research is that it is often hard to figure out how much and to what level you would like to participate(i.e. purely collaborative vs principal investigator (competing for funding and running your own lab)). The only thing that helps you decide b/w the two would be experience in research to figure out what you like and don't like.

If ultimately you are sure that the "bench" work is what you would like to do; I would lean towards the PharmD/PhD combo or just the PhD. I'd prefer the PharmD/PhD combo over the PhD just b/c the PharmD is one heck of a backup plan in the event the PhD doesn't take off as quickly as you may need it to. The just PharmD + residency and/or fellowship is always an option, but just keep in mind that you are likely to spend the same amount of time in training (~4yrs; 1-2yrs in residency training and/or 2-3yrs in fellowship training) doing post grad training as you would w/i a PhD program.

Most of your job options for drug development are likely to be in industry, academia, or at NIH/NCI. Most of the stuff at FDA is largely drug review prior to FDA approval or post marketting surveillance. Check the listings via www.accp.com for potential jobs, training programs (fellowships or clinical PhD programs) and qualifications.

 

[cdpiano27]

I interned this summer at NIH/NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). I did not see any pharmaceutical people here. I was a statistics intern, the other interns included: a high school student, a few biomedical engineering majors (from Johns Hopkins, NC State, Rutgers), medical students from Case and UMDNJ, and a few bio majors (I know one was from Cornell). And some people were on the main campus and others were in Rockledge, three miles away. I was in Rockledge. In the poster day, no one outside of the statistics division even understood my project (it is so far removed from biology and is more like applied math and model fitting).

NCI might be different, they might need pharmacology people. But NHLBI certainly does not.

 

[kwizard]

I interned this summer at NIH/NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). I did not see any pharmaceutical people here. I was a statistics intern, the other interns included: a high school student, a few biomedical engineering majors (from Johns Hopkins, NC State, Rutgers), medical students from Case and UMDNJ, and a few bio majors (I know one was from Cornell). And some people were on the main campus and others were in Rockledge, three miles away. I was in Rockledge. In the poster day, no one outside of the statistics division even understood my project (it is so far removed from biology and is more like applied math and model fitting).

NCI might be different, they might need pharmacology people. But NHLBI certainly does not.

Please see the following:
http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/phar/

http://ccr.cancer.gov/Staff/Staff.asp?profileid=5728

Clarification: The bulk of pharmacists one may see at NIH are at the clinical center (i.e. the hospital) where the patients are. Within the clinical center each floor/wing is the representative portion of one the various institutes of health as this is where the pts for the various clinical trials are hospitalized or brought in for various clinics/evals necessary for clinical trials.

If you have the PharmD/PhD than this would open up more doors for "bench" work (i.e. kinetics, drug development, etc), but many of these positions are likely to be in industry or academia w/ NIH (i.e. the clinical center) as a possible option; however, the larger portion of them are in academia or industry. Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion.

 

[bethechange]

I am also in the same boat as guytim. I'm wondering whether I should pursue a different degree rather than just PharmD. What is "bench" work? Does anyone know what kind of work a drug developer would do on a daily basis? And that would require..a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences?

 

[kwizard]

I am also in the same boat as guytim. I'm wondering whether I should pursue a different degree rather than just PharmD. What is "bench" work? Does anyone know what kind of work a drug developer would do on a daily basis? And that would require..a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences?

"Benchwork" also commonly called basic research implies working in a lab and making discoveries at that a molecular level. Clinical research often implies research via clinical trials, outcomes, epidemiology, etc. Then translational research is hypothesized to be the bridge between basic research to clinical research. There really are no true consensus statements for any of them an much of the problem is trying train researchers that can do research that will eventually benefit the masses. Unfortunately a lot of the findings in basic research are never found applicable to clinical practice or everyday life; however, w/o basic research we wouldn't have the in depth understanding of so many clinical dilemmas. Secondly, the problem isn't always realized in the lab then applied to the population as it can also occur in the opposite direction.

Example: clinical-->basic -->clinical

Reserpine administration to people for HTN also happened to lower levels of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine at the synapse resulting in pts committing suicide while on reserpine. Of course at that time no one was sure that a depletion in the various neurotransmitters (NTS) was leading to the increase in suicide.

At a basic level, researchers (mainly Dr. Julius Axelrod who passed last yr)were able to study the receptor at a molecular level and hypothesize that the change in mood was due to changes/decreases in NTS at the synapse. All of this ultimately led to to the development of prozac and a share of the Nobel prize in the early 70s.

Another example, but from bench-->clinical
Fleming discovering penicillin mold having an antibacterial effect. We know now where all of this led to.

My history may be a bit sketchy but hopefully the major details are correct.

Many pharmaceutical scientists in drug development will run the kinetics portions of various drug trials prior to clinical trial period and/or pharmacogenomics/polymorphisms.

Please see the following:

http://www.pharmacotherapy.org/

See this article from the the ACCP white papers and position statements on the left column, second bullet. Access should be free. Other potential position papers can be found on www.accp.com.

Other commentary can be found at:
http://www.pitt.edu/~excelres/research_areas/trans_med.htm

General info on pharmaceutical scientists:

http://www.aapspharmaceutica.com/
or just check out various schools of pharmacy and the various programs.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Hey all

If I want develop new drugs, such as working for the FDA or other pharmaceudical companies, should I get a pharm D or another degree such as a degree in pharmaceudical science?

Sorry if this question has already been asked and thanks in advance~

i think you should get a pharmacology/toxocology degree. they usually are the ones that develop new drugs.

 

[KM86]

how much will u get paid if ur in the research thing lol.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

how much will u get paid if ur in the research thing lol.

depends on the degree i think....