Pharmaceutical Scientist

Have you ever wondered how a plant or a sponge from the ocean becomes a medication that a doctor prescribes to treat disease?

While pharmacists are highly trained to evaluate medication use; communicate with other health care providers; prepare and dispense medications; and educate patients about those medications, pharmaceutical scientists are expertly trained to discover, develop, test and manufacture new medications.

Typical pharmaceutical scientists spend most of their time in a laboratory discovering and learning how different compounds interact with disease-causing cells and organisms. In addition, they investigate how these compounds interact with the human body to ultimately determine if they can become new drugs.

Developing new drugs takes a very long time and costs a great deal of money. There are three stages to this process:

• Discovery: Identifying new compounds that help treat disease
• Development: Administering the new drug to animals and humans to make sure it is safe and effective
• Manufacturing: Producing the new drug in large quantities for distribution

Creating new medicines requires a large team of scientists with training in many different scientific disciplines including various areas of chemistry, biology, engineering, informatics and medicine.

During the discovery phase, pharmaceutical scientists may examine thousands of molecular compounds before they find one that effectively fights disease without harming the patient. Alternatively, hundreds of molecular pathways are evaluated to determine if a protein can alter the signaling in a beneficial way. If a pharmaceutical scientist identifies a promising new compound or target today, it may take up to 20 years before the medicine is available in your drug store.

Pharmaceutical scientists usually specialize in one aspect of the drug development process. They may:

• Design new drug therapies using natural or synthetic (man-made) ingredients
• Uncover new ways to use existing drugs to treat different types of disease
• Study how disease affects the body and what causes some people to develop certain types of disease
• Study how the human body responds to medications, so scientists can develop better, safer drugs Test drugs on animals and humans to ensure safety and efficacy
• Determine the most effective formulation and dosage for a specific drug
• Work on improving the drug manufacturing process
• Ensure the consistent quality of prescription medications
• Advise corporations or government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, on issues related to pharmaceutical development

Regardless of where they choose to specialize in the drug development process, pharmaceutical scientists have the satisfaction of spending their time looking for ways to help people fight disease and stay healthy.