Pharmacology in India
Pharmacology is one of the underclasses of biotechnology and medicine. It is crucial for the proper dispensing, manufacturing and utilization of medicine in a country. India has had a history of health problems wreaking havoc among the masses, our population size requires a lot of effort to manage- in every aspect of life, medicine being one of them. Pharmacology management courses have gained popularity in recent years and for good reason. Pharmacists prepare, mix and compound both over-the-counter and prescription-based medicines for people with various ailments and medical complications. This business is as hectic and nerve-wracking as it sounds and efficient management is more than necessary here.
Moreover, Pharmacology Management deals with the quality control and production of medicine on a large scale and even medical research institutions require it to some degree. So to summarize, pharmacology management deals with the production, dispensing, development, research, and administration of medicine and nursing. Pharmacology management courses prepare the candidates for this crucial job through various types of specializations and refined course matter- preparing the students not only in the medical aspect of it but also regarding the sales, marketing and business administration part of pharmacology.
Pharmacology Management course and eligibility
The management course prepares students to handle key positions in planning, operations, consultancy and problem-solving departments in a pharmacy enterprise, research institute, or medical manufacturing company. The objective of the course is to prepare professionals that have the optimal skills and knowledge in their repertoire to back up the highly demanding job. The pharmacology industry has over 25 thousand manufacturing units and about 20 per cent of them are involved in mass/bulk medicine manufacturing. You can imagine how complicated and intricate the supply chain is for that industry to keep running the way it has managed to run for decades, considering the sheer demand that is generated in our country every year.
After the 10+2, a degree in pharmacology management can be followed on all levels, most institutions in India offer diplomas, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pharmacology management. Full-time traditional courses and distance learning options are both available and very well designed in terms of the course outcomes, the standard of faculty available and the sheer number of supplementary resources for the students to be better equipped to go through the course. In order to enter a diploma or bachelor’s in business administration plus a diploma as a bachelor’s level degree, you need at least a 50% aggregate score on your 10+2 and in order to do one of the postgraduate courses you first need a bachelor’s degree or diploma to enter.
CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT, GMAT, SNAP and NMAT are some of the national level entrance examinations that are required to be cleared in order to enter an MBA program in pharmacology management. There are a plethora of specializations available in pharmacology management that capture the diversity of the job such as Pharma Product Management, Pharma Sales & Marketing Management, Financing Pharmaceuticals, Pharma Production Management, Pharmaceutical Policy, Laws & Regulations, etc.
Career: Jobs and salaries
Being a highly technical job it requires qualified professionals but that is not to say the opportunities for employment are not there, on the contrary, there are plenty of jobs in pharmacology management available in India. Government initiatives, Academia, Research, Universities, pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, Hospitals, etc. are the top recruiters in this industry and some popular job profiles that the candidates can grab are Sales Managers, Drug Distribution Manager, Market Researcher & Drug Developer, Pharmaceuticals Distributors, Pharmaceutical Purchase Manager, Formulation Pharmaceutical Technology Scientist, Quality Assurance Manager and Business Development Manager.
Depending on the particular employer the salary varies a lot but the mean entry-level salary for 3 to 4 Lakhs per annum. The career progression is really smooth and the job is stable and medium experience (3-5 years) salary elevates to 5.5 to 7 lakhs per annum. The long term career path plateaus a little but in 7-9 years of experience the salaries hit about 7 to 10 Lakhs per annum and skills and operational abilities contribute to varying these digits to some extent.
With the current pandemic situation, the workload on the pharmacology industry is higher than ever and the prospects for a career in this field are well above average.
