Question: In the Pharmaceutical industry, is chemistry more important than biology in terms of research?

Angela Stokes answered on 10 Nov 2014:

Hi Nell

Great question, and one that is quite difficult to answer because it really depends what you want to do in the pharmaceutical industry. If you want to start right at the beginning of research then chemistry and biology are both valuable as are pharmacology and toxicology – you can only do the last two subjects at university really.

For formulation research, that is looking at what substances are put into tablets, then chemistry is essential.

If you want to work in clinical research biology is probably more valuable than chemistry and in Regulatory Affairs all are valuable. There is also a need for medical economics and specialised subjects such as epidemiology (looking at how diseases are spread across the world) but a good grounding in science is essential before specialising.

Hope this helps……and just so you know I really enjoy working in the pharmaceutical industry and would recommend it to anyone. It really is a profession where you can start at the bottom and work your way to the top.