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There are a lot of options for students of science nowadays. Gone are the days when becoming an engineer or a doctor was considered the only recourse for those who opted for a career related to science in their twelfth grade. Nowadays there is a lot of scope for carving out a career in different disciplines of science be it bio technology or pharmacy major. Take in account for instance the pharmaceutical industry. It is virtually booming at home and abroad, indeed globally. The scale of operations and width of penetration of pharma worldwide is nothing short of breath-taking.
There are a lot of students who now go in for pharmacy graduation due to the sheer width of opportunities that lie before them. There used to be a time where pharmacy students used to become medical representatives or open up medical stores. The scenario has rapidly changed as there are a wide host of options in terms of Research and development of pharma products or look at a career in Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs or Pharmacovigilance and even Quality Control in drugs companies.
Quality Assurance is the field of pharma which looks at the various processes and procedures that go into drug production. This involves a lot of detailed documentation and monitoring of processes which a pharma degree holder can pursue. With the rapid growth in demand for pharma products, QA is certainly a viable option for a pharma student to look at while evaluating career options.
The other field that can be looked at is Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA). This involves overall regulation of pharma from the perspective of regulating the usage, safety and efficacy of drugs, medical devices, Food & Biosimilar products. Pharma students can aspire to be RA officers from the corporate side or even from the regulatory perspective depending on their aptitude and interest. Such students can avail of relevant regulatory affairs courses in both online as well as offline modes to further their career pursuits. Students need to develop special skills in communication, eye for detail and accuracy and ability to deal with companies or the regulatory authority depending on which side of the regulatory sphere they are a part of.
Nowadays there is also a lot of emphasis on pharmacovigilance training for pharma students. One cannot but emphasize the importance of pharmacovigilance when we have a scenario where the number and type of diseases as well as their cures are being developed. This is because pharmacovigilance is that field which looks at drugs and vaccines from the perspective of any adverse drug reactions that these drugs and pharma products cause. This is indeed a life saver as a high level of reaction response of the body to drug/s can act as a threat to life itself.
There are a number of types of pharmacovigilance courses that Life Science Students can undertake to build a fine profession in this area. These courses are very comprehensive that teach students on pharmacovigilance basics, methodologies, best practices and intricate nuances like signal management and ADR (Adverse Drug Reaction) monitoring and mitigation that are an integral part of pharmacovigilance. Students are also required to have good analytical skills, IT knowledge and communication skills to be adept at their jobs.
As mentioned earlier, the scope for pharma students is immense and diverse also. It is generally thought that the supply of QA jobs is a little more limited as the number of companies having such role openings is not that high. At the end of the day however getting into QA/RA/pharmacovigilance is a question of individual choice, aptitude and interest. The heartening fact is that there is ample scope in these fields in a day and age when the pharma market is undergoing a literal revolution in terms of technological sophistication and volumes increase globally.