Medicinal Chemistry - Training in Medicinal Chemistry

Training in Medicinal Chemistry

Medicinal chemistry is by nature an interdisciplinary science, and practitioners have a strong background in organic chemistry, which must eventually be coupled with a broad understanding of biological concepts related to cellular drug targets. Scientists in medicinal chemistry work are principally industrial scientists (but see following), working as part of an interdisciplinary team that uses their chemistry abilities, especially, their synthetic abilities, to use chemical principles to design effective therapeutic agents. Most training regimens include a postdoctoral fellowship period of 2 or more years after receiving a Ph.D. in chemistry. However, employment opportunities at the Master's level also exist in the pharmaceutical industry, and at that and the Ph.D. level there are further opportunities for employment in academia and government. Many medicinal chemists, particularly in academia and research, also earn a Pharm.D (doctor of pharmacy). Some of these PharmD/PhD researchers are RPh's (Registered Pharmacists).

Graduate level programs in medicinal chemistry can be found in traditional medicinal chemistry or pharmaceutical sciences departments, both of which are traditionally associated with schools of pharmacy, and in some chemistry departments. However, the majority of working medicinal chemists have graduate degrees (MS, but especially Ph.D.) in organic chemistry, rather than medicinal chemistry, and the preponderance of positions are in discovery, where the net is necessarily cast widest, and most broad synthetic activity occurs.

In discovery of small molecule therapeutics, an emphasis on training that provides for breadth of synthetic experience and "pace" of bench operations is clearly present (e.g., for individuals with pure synthetic organic and natural products synthesis in Ph.D. and post-doctoral positions, ibid.). In the medicinal chemistry specialty areas associated with the design and synthesis of chemical libraries or the execution of process chemistry aimed at viable commercial syntheses (areas generally with fewer opportunities), training paths are often much more varied (e.g., including focused training in physical organic chemistry, library-related syntheses, etc.).

As such, most entry-level workers in medicinal chemistry, especially in the U.S., do not have formal training in medicinal chemistry but receive the necessary medicinal chemistry and pharmacologic background after employment—at entry into their work in a pharmaceutical company, where the company provides its particular understanding or model of "medichem" training through active involvement in practical synthesis on therapeutic projects. (The same is somewhat true of computational medicinal chemistry specialties, but not to the same degree as in synthetic areas.) Hence, although several graduate programs offer Ph.D. and postdoctoral training in medicinal chemistry, the broader education of a top-tier synthetic or physical chemistry graduate program most frequently provides the entry level skills sought for industrial medicinal chemistry.