Drug Innovation 

Overview

Drug Innovation : A Unique Programme

The Drug Innovation programme at Utrecht University  is about:

• developing new drugs to combat drug-resistant microorganisms

• using gene or protein technologies to create therapies targeted at individual patients

• finding a way to imprint the immune system to increase tolerance

• exploring the relationship between gut microbes and brain disease

• learning how to use proteomics to study stem cell development

• reducing the side effects of treatment by finding new ways to deliver drugs directly onto the tumor

• updating and speeding up the drug regulatory process

The Master’s in Drug Innovation programme focuses on diagnostics and the improvement and management of small molecule and biomolecular drugs. Drug innovation covers many topics such as the development of new vaccines and the study of antibodies, gene therapeutics, and medical nutrition. 

Once developed, a new drug then needs to go through approval, which raises a whole new set of challenges, for example the establishment of new methods and criteria for evaluating the quality, efficacy, safety, and performance of the drug.

Interdisciplinary programme

This broad, interdisciplinary programme is open to graduates from a wide range of disciplines such as chemistry, biology, pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical sciences, or medicine.

Many elective courses

Our programme offers a diverse suite of elective courses. This means you can concentrate on the topics of most interest to you. You will also take an internship with one of the research teams working on drug innovation at Utrecht University. This work may lead to publication in scientific journals within the field or new drug patents or protocols.

Graduates of this programme may go on to undertake research in drug innovation at universities, in the pharmaceutical or and biotechnology industry or to work in science or healthcare.

Programme objective 

ProgrammeDrug innovation is an interdisciplinary field, which pulls together expertise from chemical, biological and medical sciences. This interdisciplinarity is central to the search for new solutions to currently incurable diseases. 

You will contribute to this field by undertaking two internships over a total of 15 months and submitting a writing assignment.

Tracks

• Experimental Pharmacology
• Drug Regulatory Sciences

Career Prospects

Graduates with an MSc in Drug Innovation will be eligible for many PhD programmes. As soon as you graduate with a PhD, and if you want to pursue for a career in academia, you can aim for a post-doctoral fellowship. 

After that, you can then opt for either an assistant, associate, or full professorship role, which occurs mostly through tenure tracks. You can also choose to contribute to drug innovation within research institutes, any of the growing number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies (ranging from small start-up to ‘big pharma’), or health care organisations. 

After completing the Drug Regulatory Sciences profile, you can find jobs in regulatory affairs, often even without a PhD programme. Other opportunities in the same institutes or companies include careers in business, administration and education.

Accreditation

Accredited by the NVAO - Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.