Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences

As the first graduate program in pharmaceutical sciences in the Philippines, the MS Pharmaceutical Sciences program is dedicated to producing highly skilled and capable graduates who are equipped to excel in the dynamic and rapidly evolving fields of regulatory science, drug discovery and development, and product design and development. Through an innovative and interdisciplinary curriculum, graduates will gain a comprehensive understanding of the scientific and regulatory frameworks that underpin the pharmaceutical industry.

23 February 2023

At the end of the program, the graduates are expected to:

1. apply necessary skills to effectively manage pharmaceutical industry, academe, and research organizations/institutions;
2. apply the highest ethical and professional standards in academe and practice;
3. conduct research studies [sic] that are responsive to the needs of the society in partnership with pharmaceutical industry, academe, and research organizations/institutions;
4. perform evaluation of compliance with pharmaceutical regulatory requirements; and
5. conduct evidence-based interventions to address the challenges and needs of the product lifecycle.

The admission requirements for the MS Pharmaceutical Science are the following:

• Graduate of pharmacy, industrial pharmacy, and the related disciplines* *Include, but not limited to, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and biotechnology, food technology, nutrition, chemical engineering, and materials engineering
• GWA of 2.0 or better for non-UP graduates; GWA of 2.5 or better for UP graduate.
• Must pass the interview of the graduate program committee
• Pass the required bridge courses or apply for advanced or transfer credits

BS Pharmaceutical Sciences:

• No required bridge courses

BS Industrial Pharmacy

• To take one of the following options upon advising
  • Statistics in the Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Integrated Pharmaceutical Science Laboratory 3

BS Pharmacy and Graduate of Related Fields

• Required courses
  • Pharmaceutical Formulations
  • Quality Assurance of Pharmaceuticals
• To take one of the following options upon advising
  • Pharmaceutical Validation I
  • Pharmaceutical Validation 2
  • Integrated Pharmaceutical Science Laboratory 3

1. The student must have presented an original research in a University Graduate Colloquium
2. Submission of an article in publishable format in a reputable peer-reviewed journal
3. Prospective graduates are required to submit six (6) bound copies of the master's thesis.
4. Original copies of duly accomplished UPM-NGOHS Form No. 3 (Completion/Approval Sheet) and UPM-NGOHS Form No. 4 (Certificate of Acceptance) shall be included in each bound copy.
5. Settlement of deficiencies and clearing of records shall not be later than five (5) weeks before the end of the semester.
6. Filing of a formal application for graduation with the respective colleges during the prescribed period

*The total number of electives that the student will take per semester will depend on their discussion with the program adviser. The minimum number of elective units that the student must take is eight (8) units in order to complete the required 30 units of the whole program.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 210
Course Title: Pharmaceutical Risk Management
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Risk management in practice areas of pharmacy. This course will provide students thorough understanding of the risks associated with the manufacturing and use of a medicinal product, including its components. The course will enable students to acquire and practice the skills in effective quality risk management through a proactive approach to identify and control risk during drug development, manufacturing, storage, and distribution.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 220
Course Title: Business Development in the Pharmaceutical Operations
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Business development in the pharmaceutical/biomedical context; interaction of factors involved in science, technology, intellectual property, business and finance, and the healthcare system. The course covers the role of business development in the pharmaceutical/ biomedical industry, as well as the interaction between science, technology, intellectual property, finance and the business and the health care system. The course further covers how these areas influence business development strategies of pharmaceutical companies.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 240
Course Title: Regulatory Affairs in Product Development
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Regulatory requirements in the drug development process. This course provides aspects of regulatory and quality compliance as applied to the pharmaceutical industry, pre-clinical, and clinical studies.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 260
Course Title: Drug Discovery and Design
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Principles underlying discovery, design, and assessment of synthetic and naturally-derived drugs. This course will help the student develop a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the iterative, intricate process of drug discovery and development from candidate identification and evaluation, new drug approval and its marketing and all requisites essential to it.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 300.1
Course Title: Thesis Proposal
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Development and defense of a written proposal for thesis

Course Code: Pharm Sci 300.2
Course Title: Thesis Implementation
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: Pharm Sci 300.1
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Implementation of an approved (technical and ethical) thesis proposal and oral defense of the written thesis. It includes the writing of a research article derived from the thesis in a publishable format.

Course Code: Pharm 296
Course Title: Graduate Seminar
Credit Units: 1.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Seminar on current developments in the field of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. This course is aimed at enhancing the skills of the students related to critical appraisal of scientific literatures, effective oral and written presentation, and analytical discussion of selected topics in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences.

Course Code: Pharm 299
Course Title: Research Methods
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Structured process in the development of the graduate thesis in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Course Code: Pharm Sci 230
Course Title: Pharmaceutical Quality Audit
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Principles involved in auditing pharmaceutical quality

Course Code: Pharm Sci 250
Course Title: Advanced Validation
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Practical aspects of pharmaceutical validation technology. This course will provide the knowledge and skills required to prepare, implement, and evaluate validation protocols in different aspects of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 255
Course Title: Advanced Pharmaceutical Formulation
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Development of pharmaceutical products through Quality-by-Design approach

Course Code: Pharm Sci 265
Course Title: Pharmacogenomics and Proteomics
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Influence of genetic variation to drug response and interactions. This course will discuss how genomic variations affect the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of the drug and predict markers for adverse drug reactions. It will also serve as groundwork for the study of personalized medicine.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 270
Course Title: Product Quality Review
Credit Units: 2.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Application of the principles of quality review of standards of a drug product. This course will train students in preparing and evaluating Product Quality Review as a source of crucial information in determining potential problems that need corrective and preventive actions, and identifying opportunities for product and process improvement.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 275
Course Title: Clinical Research
Credit Units: 3.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Fundamentals of Clinical Research. This course will prepare students about the fundamentals of the conduct of clinical trials and pertinent guidelines that underpin clinical research in general.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 285
Course Title: Trends in Natural Product Analysis
Credit Units: 2.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Advances in the study of natural products and their methods of analysis. This course provides an in-depth discussion of the methods and advances in the separation and analysis of natural products. The course also discusses other relevant topics such as biodiversity, biosourcing and bioprospecting, good agricultural practices, and drug-herb interactions.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 290
Course Title: Drug Transport and Delivery
Credit Units: 2.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Drug transporters and their roles in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 294
Course Title: Internship for Pharmaceutical Sciences
Credit Units: 6.0
Pre-requisite: None
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Project-based internship in pharmaceutical sciences. In this course, the student is exposed to the workplace where he/she can observe the work setting for experiential learning, at the same time, being able to see the persistent and pertinent problems present in the internship site, thus, giving the student an opportunity to apply his/her training by identifying and proposing relevant, economic, and pragmatic solutions for the internship site.

Course Code: Pharm Sci 295.1
Course Title: Advanced Integrated Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory
Credit Units: 2.0
Pre-requisite: One relevant 3-unit elective course
Co-requisite: None
Course Description: Supervised laboratory application of pharmaceutical sciences courses. This course provides opportunity for application of knowledge and skills gained from different courses in pharmaceutical sciences through conduct of laboratory activities and/or implementation of projects that will address issues in the organization.