Pharmaceutical chemistry, medicinal chemistry

What does the subject cover?

Pharmaceutical chemistry combines organic and inorganic chemistry with the question of why a molecule works. Topics include drug synthesis, structure-activity relationships, stability and metabolism, and instrumental analytics from chromatography to spectroscopy. The sub-field of medicinal chemistry describes the targeted design of new active substances, for example through lead structure identification and optimisation. The test methods for identity, purity, and content are set out in the monographs of the pharmacopoeia and practised in the laboratory courses. Quantitative work also involves learning error calculation and validation. Without sound analytics there is no statement on quality.

How much weight does the subject carry in the curriculum?

In the basic study period, general, inorganic, and organic chemistry together with pharmaceutical analytics account for two of the four written papers in the First Section of the Pharmacy State Examination. In the main study period the subject is examined orally as Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry. With the reform of the Pharmacists' Licensing Regulations, which came into force on 1 October 2001, the share of pharmaceutical chemistry in the total teaching hours fell from around 45 to approximately 40 per cent in favour of medical and pharmacological content. It nevertheless remains the subject with the highest contact hours. The laboratory practical courses are considered the most time-intensive part of the basic study period and are difficult to manage alongside a part-time job.

What does this mean for students from EU countries?

Annex V no. 5.6.1 of Directive 2005/36/EC requires general and inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and analytical chemistry in every pharmacy programme in the EU. The scope of the practical courses differs noticeably between universities in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Germany, however. On transfer to a German university, the state examination office decides on credit recognition under § 22 AAppO; in practice, lectures tend to be recognised more readily than quantitative laboratory practical courses. There is no entitlement to full recognition, and anyone who has to make up credits typically loses a semester.

Common misconceptions

Pharmaceutical chemistry is not a pure synthesis laboratory. A large share of the examination content concerns analytics and quality control — precisely the tasks that recur later in the pharmacy laboratory and in drug manufacturing.