If you're interested in doing traditional bench research and want to work in a biotechnology company (e.g. on basic science, which is the cool stuff), then get a PhD. Even though there are some PharmD's working in biotech in California/New England states, the number of PhD's are far greater. The reason is because the PhD TRAINS you to be a researcher, you actually conduct your own independent experiments, write "practice" grants, and publish your findings in scientific journals. A PharmD is really lacking in terms of bench training or the thought processes of being a researcher. Trust me, it's one thing to be told how to do things, then it is to figure them out pretty much by yourself.
I'm sad to say that even though having a Master's degree in engineering or an MBA might put you at the top of that profession, a Master's degree in science doesn't amount to much in Biotechnology companies. You'll be paid a little more than the Bachelor degree holders (~35-60K depending where you live), but a PhD will boost you up to around $80-90K in some states (will be much higher in the New England states or in California where all the biotechnology/pharmaceutical firms are usually found).
If you're interested in doing clinical research or having flexibility, then a PharmD/PhD is what you would aim for. Again, there are people with just PharmD's in biotechnology companies, I did not say there weren't. However, the handful that I've encountered have training in a research setting whether they have Master's degree, or one was able to do a Post-doctorate (which is usually reserved for PhD's) after their PharmD for 2-4 years in order to get the necessary research training.
Let me reiterate though, that graduate school (e.g. for a PhD) is VERY DIFFERENT then any other professional school like optometry, dentistry, med. school, or pharmacy.
1.) The degree on average takes 5-8 years, depending on your program, depending on your mentor, depending on the luck of your project in getting great publishable AND REPEATABLE results, the impact factor of your research (from being not novel to amazingly novel). All other professional programs are traditionally planned for 4 years (unless you fail courses, and not including residencies or internships).
2.) The speed on which you graduate doesn't always depend on how hard you work (your initial project might not turn out how you wanted and you must start again on a new project).
3.) You write a thesis (known as the Preliminary-Qualifying Exam) during your 2nd year and defend it for 2-6 hours in front of a board of professors. If they like your idea, then you pass and are now considered a PhD candidate. If you fail, then you're given either a conditional pass (where they usually make you rewrite your entire thesis, or they assign you some additional graduate courses to make up your deficiencies) or a firm fail. Fail twice and you're kicked out of graduate school.
4.) You write a dissertation and defend it after your mentor and your graduate committee (which you choose during your 2nd year) near the end of the PhD.
5.) You MUST do a Post-doctorate after you attain your PhD (think of this as your residency) for 2-4 years prior to getting any sort of meaningful high paid position in Academia. You can also do this post-doctoral work in a university or a company setting.
Just my 2 cents.
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B.S. Biochem
M.S. Virology - Harvard
PhD Immunology - Stanford
PharmD the final frontier?
Rutgers doesn't have a PharmD/MBA program, but the school is named after a former GSK CEO, Ernest Mario. Its not looked down upon here in the northeast, but maybe that's because of the huge number of biotech/big pharma in the area.
