The pharmaceutical industry devotes a significant portion of its resources to studying the potential of biological organisms and substances in the development of new medications, vaccines, and drug delivery systems. Pharmaceutical biotechnology workers conduct extensive research and development to uncover new genetic information and apply cutting-edge techniques to production efforts. Scientific researchers and engineers, clinical directors and technicians, technical writers, and product sales representatives are all examples of pharmaceutical biotechnology jobs.
Highly trained scientists and research assistants work in many pharmaceutical biotechnology jobs. Professionals read thousands of pages of scientific journals and attend conferences on a regular basis to stay up to date on the latest advances in genetics and pharmacology. They also develop new hypotheses and conduct original research to determine how different types of medications can be used to treat genetic disorders. For example, a scientist might hope to develop a drug that can treat a specific type of enzyme deficiency. He or she may attempt to develop a synthetic enzyme or isolate a biological substance capable of infiltrating and repairing damaged genes.
Researchers and development engineers, as well as their assistants, collaborate with scientists to put theoretical concepts into practice. They physically make medications and vaccines and put them through rigorous testing in laboratories. Engineers keep track of their findings and forecast how well their inventions will work on humans. They try to find out about potential side effects and drug interactions, as well as the best dosage amounts.
Clinical trials can be used to test a medication once it has been determined to be safe. Clinical pharmaceutical biotechnology directors and technicians plan studies in which drugs are tested on volunteers. They choose similar subjects with care and try to control as many variables as possible. To determine if the medication has a measurable effect, most trials are conducted with experimental groups receiving the new drug and control groups receiving placebos. Years of testing may be required before a biological drug is approved for mass production and distribution.
Important pharmaceutical biotechnology jobs are also held by technical writers and salespeople. Writers create comprehensive manuals for physicians as well as patient and consumer information. Sales representatives explain new products and provide samples to distributors, doctors, and hospital administrators. They also receive feedback that can be passed on to scientists, engineers, and clinical workers, letting them know if doctors or patients have expressed any reservations about their drugs.