Pharmaceutical Biotechnology The University of Milan

Overview

he master degree program in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is structured into four curricula. A first curriculum is aimed at providing in-depth skills in the scientific aspects of biotechnological drug design and design, characterization of their molecular and cellular mechanisms and therapeutic potential. A second curriculum provides in-depth knowledge of biotechnology drug development and production and provides notions for the organization and management of biotechnology enterprises. A third curriculum develops aspects related to the use of biotechnology drugs in precision therapy, starting from the physio-pathological context, strategy and design to manufacturing and formulation. The three curricula include common specialized teachings (first semester of the first year), which are necessary to broaden and deepen the basic skills acquired during the undergraduate degree, and characterizing teachings aimed at deepening the specificities of the curriculum, which are separated starting from the second semester of the first year and in the first semester of the second year. A fourth curriculum is delivered in English and provides preparation for future challenges in the field of the most innovative biotechnology drugs. The curriculum includes teachings in common biotechnology and pharmaceutical disciplines, which are necessary to expand the basic skills acquired during the undergraduate degree, and specialized teachings that include omics approaches, nanotechnology, and cell therapies. For all curricula, the second semester of the second year is devoted to conducting the internship at facilities of the University or other public or private institutions or companies.Master degree graduates in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology must:-know in-depth biochemistry and genetics of prokaryotes and eukaryotes and cell culture techniques;-master knowledge of the structure, functions and analysis of biological macromolecules, as well as structure-activity relationships, in order to understand the mechanisms of cellular processes in which they are involved;-possess sound knowledge of the morphology and functions of human organisms;-know the basics of disease processes of relevance to humans, with particular emphasis on cellular and molecular pathogenic mechanisms;-know congenital or acquired pathological situations for which to design biotechnological therapeutic approaches;-know the fundamentals and principles for the use of the main methodologies of molecular and cellular biotechnology, with special reference to biotechnological drug design and production;-know and be able to use techniques and technologies of molecular modeling, and design of innovative drugs;-master bio-informatics methodologies to organize, build and access genomics, proteomics and metabolomics databases, and to acquire and distribute related scientific and technological information;-possess skills for the analysis and quality control of biotechnological drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines;-know the basic aspects of the operational processes that follow the industrial design of biotechnological products (including gene therapy and cell therapy), and biotechnological drug formulation;-possess basic knowledge related to the establishment, organization and management of enterprises, management of innovation projects (including patenting new biotechnological products), and marketing activities of biotechnological pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Career

The occupational possibilities for the Pharmaceutical Biotechnology graduates from The University of Milan, are:

• teaching and research activity in public and private Universities;

• research activity in public research institutes;

• research and development in pharma and biotech companies;

• teaching in secondary schools;

• clinical monitoring.

In addition, graduates will be able to participate in the creation and management of biotech companies in the field of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products.