This programme is designed for graduates in chemistry or closely related discipline who wish to contribute to drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. The programme provides training in pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, drug synthesis, methods to identify potential drug targets and drug candidates, and methods to assess the biological activities of drug compounds. Additional modules cover the key techniques in analytical chemistry used to support the pharmaceutical sciences. Study areas include research methods, pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism, drug targets, drug design and drug synthesis, spectroscopy and structural analysis, separation techniques, mass spectrometry and associated techniques, innovations in analytical science and medicinal chemistry. Practical sessions give students experience in drug synthesis, binding assays and pharmacokinetics. Students also have exciting opportunities to carry out projects on placement in industry, including at 3M, Astra Zeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and others.

Careers in a variety of industries, particularly the pharmaceutical and related industries, including drug metabolism, medicinal chemistry (organic synthesis), drug screening (action / toxicity), patents and product registration. A number of students have also progressed to the PhD study.