As the API manufacturing sector is increasingly scouting for pharmaceutical chemistry internship students to enhance R& D and analytical operations, several pharma companies including AstraZeneca Pharma India, RL Fine Chemicals, Strides Arcolab and Biocon Limited have now collaborated with pharmacy colleges in Bangalore.

The companies have initiated academia industry tie-ups for conducting validation studies and pharmacological investigations in molecule synthesis. The colleges are selected by the industry on the basis of academic excellence, teaching expertise and modern laboratory facilities. The companies are mainly using the students' services for validation of instruments in technology development, estimation of drugs and contract research programmes.

The other potential opportunity for the M Pharm internship students is contract research where companies like Bal Pharma and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited hire pharmaceutical chemistry students as full time employees (FTE).

According to industry sources the main reasons for the increased demand for pharmaceutical chemistry post graduates is their exposure to organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, estimation methodologies and instrumentation methods analysis.

Also, the services of M Pharm internship candidates are cost-effective as it does not incur any financial liabilities unlike hiring consultants or contractual employees. However, "a great deal of confidentiality is maintained for the company as students are discreet and take up the assignment only to prove themselves for getting a job in the company," says the pharmacy college sources.

"While the industry gets the advantage of conducting the in-house studies by qualified pharmacists, the academic institutes have the benefit of M Pharm students being exposed to the industry requirements. Once the candidate completes M Pharm he is absorbed by the industry immediately," informed Dr. Gopala Krishna Rao, professor, department of Pharmaceutical chemistry, Al Ameen College of Pharmacy.

AstraZeneca and RL Fine Chemicals work in partnership with the Government Pharmacy College and Al Ameen College of Pharmacy a leading private institute in the state. "The assignments include validation methods with respect to technology of formulation development as well as estimation of drugs, " said Dr. PN Sanjay Pai, professor and head, department of quality assurance, Al Ameen College of Pharmacy.

A plethora of options await M Pharm post graduates in the bulk drug sector like research and development, quality assurance, quality control, apart from openings in pharmacy teaching and regulatory affairs. The remuneration depends on the industry which one joins but the starting salaries for new entrants are around Rs 10,000.

Some of the other bulk drug companies that offer openings to post graduates in pharmaceutical chemistry are Resonance, Associated Drug Company, Lake Chemicals, Mysore-based Jubilant Organosys, SmithKline Beecham in Mysore Anugraha Chemicals in Doddaballapur, and Shilpa Antibiotics in Raichur.

Out of the total 78 pharmacy colleges in Karnataka, only Government College of Pharmacy and Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy have been offering M Pham (pharmaceutical chemistry). Of late, the increased demand and impending shortage has prompted PES College of Pharmacy and Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy to offer the specialisation.