Careers in Pharmacy in India, 1. Pharmacist, 2. Drug Inspector, 3. Governmental Agencies, 4. As Government Analyst, 5. Clinical Pharmacy, 6. Community Pharmacy, 7. Nuclear Pharmacy, 8. Pharmaceutical Industry, 9. Drug researcher, 10. As Manufacturing Chemist, 11. In Quality Control / Quality Assurance, 12. Clinical Research, 13. Medical Communications/ Information, 14. Medical Transcription, 15. Medical Coding 16. In Regulatory Affairs 17. Sales and Marketing 18. Pharma-Biotechnology, 19. Academic Pharmacy, 20. Health policy makers, 21. Specialized Area Opportunities, 22. Higher Studies With Research Fellowship

1. Careers in Pharmacy in India
Dr. Suman Pattanayak
H.O.D. Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis,
Vijaya Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences for Women,
NH-5, Enikepadu. Vijayawada - 521 108.
The word pharmacy is derived from the Greek word pharmakon meaning "drug", "medicine" or
"poison". Pharmacy is the science and technique of preparing and dispensing drugs. It is
a health profession that links health sciences with chemical sciences.
Pharma education in India - previously it is towards industrial oriented. Now a days it is focused
towards clinical and community aspects. The fields of pharmacy can generally be divided into
various disciplines like: Pharmaceutics, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy,
Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Assurance, Pharmaceutical biotechnology, Pharmacy
Practice.
Careers in pharmacy include:
1. Pharmacist: Pharmacists dispense medications at Drug stores or Hospitals. Pharmacist
responsibilities include a range of care for patients, from dispensing medications to
monitoring patient health and progress to maximize their response to the medication.
Pharmacists also provide expertise about the composition of drugs, including their chemical,
biological and physical properties and their manufacture and use. They ensure drug purity
and strength and make sure that drugs do not interact in a harmful way.
2. Drug Inspector: Drug inspectors inspects establishment where foods, drugs, cosmetics, and
similar items are manufactured, handled, stored, or sold to enforce legal standards of
sanitation, purity, and grading and collects samples of products for bacteriological and
chemical laboratory analysis. They question employees, vendors, consumers, and other
principals to obtain evidence for prosecuting violators. Destroys subgrades, or prohibits sale
of impure, toxic, damaged, or misbranded items. They prepares reports on each
establishment visited, including findings and recommendations for action.
3. Governmental Agencies: Local, state, Indian Railways and federal governmental agencies
such as the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Veterans
Administration, Banks, Insurance companies and the Armed Forces require the expertise of
skilled pharmacists.
4. As Government Analyst: The medicines that have been sampled either from manufacturing
units or retail drug stores are tested in government drug testing laboratories. The graduate
pharmacists can join these government laboratories as government analyst. But the graduate
pharmacists do need to undergo training on testing of drugs under a government analyst or
in approved laboratories. For applying the post applicant must have 18 months of drug
manufacturing experience.
5. Clinical Pharmacy: Clinical pharmacists work in a hospital as part of a medical concern
team. They typically council patients with a physician and help to determine which
medications and would be most effective for diverse patient's conditions.
6. Community Pharmacy: With addition to dispensing medications and monitoring patients
for adverse effects and interacting drugs, pharmacists provide important counseling services,

2. such as the proper selection of over-the-counter medications and/or referral to other health
care providers. Today’s pharmacist also must be well versed in alternative medicines.
7. Nuclear Pharmacy: Nuclear pharmacists are responsible for measuring and delivering the
radioactive materials which are used in digital imaging (MRI, CT, etc) and other procedures
in medical offices and hospitals.
8. Pharmaceutical Industry: Modern pharmaceutical industry recognizes the need for
technical proficiency among its production, quality control and marketing personnel. Many
pharmacists go on to get postgraduate degrees in order to meet the technical demands and
scientific duties required in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
9. Drug researcher: The role of drug researcher includes design new drug therapies using
natural or synthetic ingredients, invent new ways to use existing drugs to treat different
types of disease, to study how disease affects the body and what causes some people to
develop certain types of disease, study how the human body responds to medications, so
scientists can develop better, safer drugs. They test drugs on animals and humans to ensure
safety and efficacy, determine the most effective formulation and dosage for a specific drug,
work on improving the drug manufacturing process, ensure the consistent quality of
prescription medications, advise corporations or government agencies, including the Food
and Drug Administration, on issues related to pharmaceutical development etc.
10. As Manufacturing Chemist: under whose active direction and personal supervision
manufacturing of medicines takes place. The pharmaceutical production companies need
such persons to obtain license for manufacturing. Graduates of pharmacy with 18 months of
experience in manufacturing are treated as competent technical staff under Drugs and
Cosmetics Act which regulates the Drug Industries. This job of looking after manufacturing
of medicines is very interesting and responsible. There are scopes of promotion too to the
highest position as works manager or factory manager.
11. In Quality Control / Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance is a total process for assuring
the quality of pharmaceutical products as per standard specified in National or other
approved pharmacopoeias. Quality Assurance is a component of Quality Assurance
programme which deals with checking of representative samples of production to find out
their compliance with standards. The graduates with aptitude in analysis of pharmaceuticals
and handling of sophisticated instruments find the job interesting. There are promotional
scopes too from Quality Control chemists to Quality Assurance Manager.
12. Clinical Research: The purpose of clinical research is to evaluate whether the medication is
safe and effective when it is used for the disease under question. Clinical trials also tell us
what is the appropriate dose and route of administration. Phase I is carried out on healthy
volunteers to understand the safety profile and observe how the body handles the drug. The
subsequent phases, Phase II and III are carried out on patients suffering from the disease to
understand the efficacy and safety of the medication.
13. Medical Communications/ Information: In this role, pharmacists Critically analyze and
evaluate evidence-based medicine, collaborate and network with key opinion leaders from
industry, managed care, and academia to create promotional and educational programs,
manage client expectations while effectively integrating key messages into programs for
healthcare professionals, respond to external inquiries from patients and healthcare
professionals, create and manage question-response databases for marketed products.

3. 14. Medical Transcription: The medical transcriptionist types the information on a computer
or word processor edit and clarifies any grammatical errors. Some documents that are done
include: release summaries, reports of medical history and physical examination, reports of
operations, reports of consultations, reports of autopsies, studies of diagnosing images, notes
of progress, and letters of referrals. Experienced transcriptionists proofread medical reports
to point out errors or discrepancies and to make necessary corrections. To decrease the
possibility of patients receiving improper or damaging treatment, transcriptionists must have
the ability to comprehend and accurately transcribe assessments of patients.
15. Medical Coding: Medical coders translate patient information and into alphanumeric
medical code from variety of sources within the patient’s medical record, (i.e. the
transcription of the doctor’s notes, ordered laboratory tests, requested imaging studies and
other sources) to verify the work that was done. Coders must have a thorough knowledge of
anatomy and medical terminology and familiar with different types of insurance plans,
regulations, compliance, and the coding community’s three critical resource books: CPT®,
ICD -9/10 and HCPCS. Medical coder prepare both report the procedures that were
performed and to provide the medical biller with the information necessary to process a
claim for reimbursement by the appropriate insurance agency.
16. In Regulatory Affairs: The medicines are not only required to be effective but must be safe
and of assured quality. In order to assure efficacy, safety and quality, the entire
pharmaceutical scenario, from manufacturing to sale of medicines, is regulated by the
central and state government through a process of licensing and inspecting. The
pharmaceutical graduates can join the government services usually through public service
commission as Drugs Inspectors. They have promotional scopes to grow up to the rank of
Drugs Controller.
17. Sales and Marketing: Pharmacists with an interest in sales and administration can combine
this with their technical background in pharmacy by serving as medical representatives.
These representatives call on a variety of health care professionals to explain the uses and
merits of the products their firms produce. Experienced and successful medical service
representatives with administrative abilities often rise to supervisory or executive posts in
the pharmaceutical industry.
18. Pharma-Biotechnology: The biotech industry is a newer sector. Biotechnology with the
application of pharmaceutical science solves problems, improve processes and develop and
manufacture new products. There are over 900 pharmaceutically related biotech companies
in the UK which employ nearly 26,000 people. In India this sector is now rapidly growing.
19. Academic Pharmacy: Academicians often are called educator/ practitioners, and they serve
as role models for pharmacy students and residents in many education/practice settings.
They are involved with teaching, research, public service, and patient care. Pharmacists who
complete post graduate school exercise the option to teach. Pharmacy practice faculties have
significant responsibility for patient care, in addition to their work in teaching and research.
20. Health policy makers: Pharmacist may be involved in various categories of health policies,
including personal healthcare policy, pharmaceutical policy, and policies related to public
health such as vaccinations, awareness programme, tobacco control or breastfeeding
promotion etc.
21. Specialized Area Opportunities: Pharmacists with expertise in specialized areas such as

4. consulting, legal practice, journalist, drug information, poison control and pharmacy affairs
are becoming more in demand as the profession evolves.
22. Higher Studies With Research Fellowship: One may even consider venturing into
pursuing higher studies (M.Phram/ Ph.D) in India or abroad with research grant in order to
make their careers even more lucrative and challenging. The qualifying examinations are
GPAT, GRE, TOEFL, FPGEE, NAPLAX etc. The funding agencies are AICTE, CSIR,
DST, DBT, EMBO, ICMR, INCNE, The Lady Tata Memorial Trust, TWAS, Japan Society for
the Promotion of Science etc.
:::::: Thank you all for choosing pharmacy as a career :::::::