Pharmaceutical Science and Technology

Drug manufacturing is the process of synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs at industrial-scale by pharmaceutical companies. The process of drug manufacturing can be categorised into a number of unit operations, such as milling, granulation, coating, tablet pressing, and others.

Pharmacokinetics is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to determining the fate of substances administered to a living organism. The substances of interest include any chemical xenobiotic such as: pharmaceutical drugs, food additives, cosmetics, pesticides etc.

Pharmacokinetics shows the effects of body to a specific chemical after administration through the mechanisms of absorption and distribution, the metabolic changes caused due to that substance in the body, and the routes of excretion of the metabolites of the drug. Pharmacokinetic properties of chemicals are affected by the route and dose of the administered drug. These may affect the absorption rate.

Pharmacodynamics is the study of physiologic and biochemical effects of drugs. The effects may include those manifested within animals and humans, microorganisms and other organisms. It is the study of how a drug affects an organism, whereas pharmacokinetics is the study of how the organism affects the drug. Both together influence dosing, benefit, and adverse effects.

Pharmacoepidemiology is the study of the effects and uses of drugs in well-defined populations. To do this study, pharmacoepidemiology takes content from pharmacology as well as epidemiology. Thus, it is the bridge between both pharmacology and epidemiology. Pharmacology is defined as studying the effect of drugs and clinical pharmacology is the study of effect of drugs on patients or humans. Clinical pharmacology also provides a risk benefit assessment of effects of drugs in patients.

Biologics are medicines made from living cells by using very complex manufacturing processes and must be handled and administered carefully. Types of biologic drugs are vaccines, blood, recombinant proteins blood components, cells, allergens, genes and tissues. Biologic drugs are used for treating various diseases and conditions, and are the most advanced therapies available. Some biologic drugs are used for the treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and other autoimmune diseases.

Pharmaceutical packaging is the packaging processes for pharmaceutical preparations. It involves all of the operations from production through drug distribution channels to the end consumer.

Pharmaceutical packaging is highly regulated but there is small variation in the details, depending on the country of origin or the region. The common factors include: assurance of patient safety, thorough documentation of all materials and processes, control of possible migration of packaging components into the drug, control of degradation of the drug by oxygen, moisture, heat, assurance of the efficacy of the drug through the intended shelf life, uniformity of the drug through different production lots etc.

Physical pharmacy is the branch of pharmacy which focuses on the application of physics and chemistry to the study of pharmacy. It is the study of the effects of dosage forms on their environment by checking them at the molecular level. It emphasis on the actions and physical characteristics of the drug delivery system before it is given to the patient. It forms the basis for design, manufacture, and distribution of drug products and acts as the foundation for the stable and proper use of medical drugs. It covers areas such as solubility, drug delivery and pharmacokinetics.

Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is the science that includes all technologies needed for producing, manufacturing and registration of biological drugs. Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within the living organisms. It is a laboratory based science that brings chemistry and biology together. Pharmaceutical companies use biotechnology for manufacturing drugs, gene therapy, pharmacogenomics and genetic testing.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. This is a new field and combines pharmacology and genomics to develop effective and safe medications and doses that will be designed according to a person’s genetic organization. The field of pharmacogenomics is still in its early stage. Its use is currently quite limited, but new approaches are under study in clinical trials. It deals with the influence of acquired and inherited genetic variation on drug response in patients by correlating gene expression or single-nucleotide polymorphisms with pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Pharmacovigilance or drug safety, is the pharmacological science related to the collection, detection, monitoring, assessment, and prevention of adverse effects of pharmaceutical products.

Information received from patients and healthcare providers by pharmacovigilance agreements and other sources like the medical literature, plays an important role in providing the data necessary for pharmacovigilance to take place. In order to market or to test a pharmaceutical product in most countries, adverse event data received by the license holder should be submitted to the local drug regulatory authority.

 Pharmacognosy is the study of the physical, biochemical, chemical and biological properties of drugs, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources.

 Pharmacognosy is one of the five major divisions of the pharmaceutical science. It represents the oldest branch of the profession of pharmacy.

Pharmaceutical chemistry is the study of drugs, and it involves drug development. This includes drug discovery, absorption, delivery metabolism etc. It is a mixture of different elements like biomedical analysis, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. Pharmaceutical chemistry work is mainly conducted in labs.

Pharmaceutical chemistry involves cures and remedies for disease, analytical techniques, pharmacology, metabolism, and drug chemistry.

Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology is a branch of pharmacy that deals with new emerging technologies for developing customized solutions for drug delivery systems. The drug delivery system affects the rate of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of the drug or other related chemical substances in the body in a positive way. The drug delivery system also helps in binding of drug to its target receptor and influence that receptor’s signalling and activity.

Bio pharmaceutics studies the relationship between the physical or chemical properties of the drug, the dosage form in which the drug is given, and the route of administration on the rate and extent of systemic drug absorption. The importance of the drug substance and the drug formulation on absorption, and in vivo distribution of the drug to the site of action, is described as a sequence of events that precede elicitation of a drug’s therapeutic effect.

 Pharmaceutical jurisprudence is the study of laws regulating the profession of pharmacy. It includes all the acts and rules mentioned in the constitution.
 E.g. drug and Cosmetics act and rules, pharmacy act, MTP act, magic remedies act, etc.

It is important for running a pharma business irrespective of its size, whether it is retail or wholesale or a full-fledged business.

Pharmaceutical Microbiology is an applied branch of Microbiology. It involves the study of microorganisms associated with the manufacture of pharmaceuticals e.g. minimizing the number of microorganisms in a process environment, excluding microorganisms and microbial bi products like exotoxin and endotoxin and ensuring the finished pharmaceutical product is sterile. Other uses of pharmaceutical microbiology include the research and development of anti-infective agents, the use of microorganisms to detect mutagenic activity in prospective drugs.

Industrial Pharmacy is an area which includes manufacturing, development, marketing and distribution of drug products and also quality assurance of these activities. This research area related to different functions in pharmaceutical industry and having contact areas with engineering and economics.

Clinical pharmacy is the area of pharmacy concerned with the science and practice medication use. It includes the provision of patient care with the use of medications to elevate the health outcomes of patients.

Drug target is the naturally existing cellular structure involved in the pathology of interest that the drug-in-development is meant to act on. It is the process to discover a new drug and bringing a drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified.
Drug discovery and development is an intellectual solution which analyses scientific knowledge and data to reveal known, unknown and hidden connectivity that can help increase the vast possibilities of scientific development. It is used by pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies and academic institutions to assist with new drug target identification and drug re-purposing.

Toxicology is a branch of science that helps us understand the harmful effects that chemicals, substances can have on humans, animals, and the environment. Toxicology can also be referred as the “Science of Safety” because as a field it has evolved from a science focused on studying poisons and adverse effects of chemical exposures.
The relationship between dose and its effects on the exposed organism is highly important in toxicology. Factors that influence chemical toxicity include the dosage, route of exposure, species, age, gender and environment. Toxicologists are experts of poisons.

Hospital Management is defined from different aspects. It mainly relates to management of all the areas of a hospital; a coordination of all elements of a hospital. This may range from patient care to record keeping to inventory of medicines and cleanliness. To be able to become a hospital management professional requires taking care of each and every element of the hospital.

Computer aided design and drafting (CADD) is a subfield of engineering which deals with the design and drafting of drugs through the use of specialized software that visualizes designs as modular 3D computer models.

Computer aided design (CAD) software is used for creating the 3D models complete with detailed documentation such as dimensions, materials used and even details the design process.

Pharmaceutical technology is application of scientific knowledge or technology to pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. It includes methods, techniques, and instrumentation in the manufacture, preparation, dispensing, packaging, and storing of drugs and other preparations used in determinative procedures and in the treatment of patients.

It is a branch of pharmacology that deals with the entry of chemicals or drugs into the environment after they are eliminated by humans and animals in post-therapy.