Biomedical Sciences: Drug Discovery and Development

The Master´s Degree Programme in Biomedical Sciences – Drug Discovery and Development and Development at University of Turku trains experts for the whole chain of drug development – from molecules to regulations.

Quick Facts

Full-time Duration:	2 years
Starting in:	late August
Tuition Fee:	Free for citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland, for citizens of non-EU/EEA countries €12,000/academic year
Location:	Turku, Finland

The programme in Drug Discovery and Development gives you deep understanding of up-to-date methods applied to identify and validate new drug targets and to generate lead drug molecules. The curriculum also provides information about technological innovations as well as methods of clinical drug research and development phases, clinical trial design, study planning, and biostatistics. In addition, you will learn about drug regulatory science and pharmacovigilance.

After graduation, you will master drug discovery and development processes as well as procedures applied in drug regulatory science. You will also become familiar with the role of drug regulatory authorities during the life span of a drug. If you decide to pursue a career in academia, the University of Turku also offers Drug Research Doctoral Programme for post-graduate studies.

You will get comprehensive skills to work in the field of biomedicine and drug discovery for companies, universities, research institutes, or drug regulatory authorities. The programme also gives a good foundation for those interested in entrepreneurship.

The Drug Discovery and Development specialisation track is part of the MSc Programme in Biomedical Sciences, which is a collaboration of two universities, the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The close cooperation of three biomedical programmes forms a unique educational combination of biomedical sciences in Finland and worldwide.

The programme in Biomedical Sciences is managed together by the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Technology at the University of Turku. Other specialisation tracks of the Master´s Degree Programme in Biomedical Sciences are:

Biomedical Imaging
Molecular Biotechnology and Diagnostics

Programme Structure

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The courses cover drug discovery and research, translational drug research, clinical drug development, and professional and career development. An understanding of the use of multimedia in a scientific context and excellent academic writing skills are emphasised. The interdisciplinary curriculum provides you with a broad spectrum of state-of-the-art knowledge in biomedical imaging related to many different areas in cell biology and biomedicine.

The programme has the following overall structure:

Drug Discovery and Research, 18 ECTS
Principles, bioinformatics, computer-aided design
Translational Drug Research, 17 ECTS
Therapy areas, methods in experimental pharmacology, laboratory animal science
Clinical Drug Development, 9 ECTS
Regulation, clinical trial design and research
Learning project, 10 ECTS
Master’s thesis research project, seminars, and report, 55 ECTS
Professional and career development, 25 ECTS
Language studies, elective studies

“This program was so well-tailored for me, since it included both the discovery and the development aspect of drugs. As a molecular biologist, I wanted to reassure that the master programme I would choose would include a lot of fields and not just fall within a single one.” He adds that he wanted to study at this track because he “wanted to have an insight of what is happening in pharma industry and how things work.”

Polychronis Tatsis – Master’s student in Biomedical Sciences: Drug Discovery and Development

Greece

Career Prospects

After graduation, you will be an expert in drug discovery and development processes. You will know the procedures applied in drug regulatory science and the role of drug regulatory authorities during the life span of a drug.

Possible job titles are:

medical liaison,
medical writer,
regulatory consulting expert,
scientific/technical advisor,
research director,
project manager,
drug development pharmacologist,
university lecturer/researcher.

Career in Research

The Master of Science degree completed in the Programme will also qualify you for PhD studies in Turku, elsewhere in Finland, or universities worldwide. You will be able to apply for a position in the University of Turku Graduate School (UTUGS). The Graduate School consists of doctoral programmes that cover all disciplines and doctoral candidates of the University.

Together with the doctoral programmes, the Graduate School provides systematic and high-quality doctoral training. UTUGS aims to train highly qualified experts with the skills required for both professional careers in research and other positions of expertise.

Several doctoral programmes at the University of Turku will be available for you after graduation:

Drug Research
Technology
Molecular Medicine
Clinical Research

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