Pharma Enterprise and Economic Evaluation

• Overview

Module outline and aims

The pharmaceutical industry is recognised as a dynamic and enterprising business sector generating high-quality employment and contributing to economic output. It includes an extensive and diverse group of companies. These range in size from small start-up firms to multi-national pharmaceutical corporations. Production methods include traditional pharmaceuticals manufactured through chemical synthesis and biopharmaceuticals manufactured in living organisms. Depending on size and strategy pharmaceutical companies may conduct extensive research in-house or license promising medical discoveries, often from smaller companies.

In addition to creating safe and effective products, pharma companies need to develop medications with superior results to those already on the market and demonstrate their added value to a range of stakeholders to justify prices higher than existing treatments. These tasks are complicated by the dynamics of power among industry stakeholders, each of which may require different evidence to be convinced of a product’s value.

The module brings together multiple perspectives from the pharmaceutical industry, public sectors, health policy and regulation, governments and economic development.

Content outline

The content explores the global pharmaceutical sector from the perspectives of major stakeholders. It includes:

• An overview of the pharmaceutical R&D process including: drivers of innovation cost of new drugs and patents.
• Models of pharmaceutical markets including: monopolistic and competitive forces, merges and acquisitions, pricing of drugs.
• The regulator’s role in the pharmaceutical policy to ensure a balance between price control, incentives for innovation and access to drugs, including the role of NICE in the UK.
• The role of government industry policy in developing and promoting domestic pharma industries in the global marketplace.
• Economic evaluation of the benefits of new drugs and technologies.

Dates and Fees to be confirmed

Non EEA students can only apply as part of a programme, not as a stand-alone module

Entry requirements depend on the applicant. Experienced managers will have more to offer on theirCVs. Recent graduates will have a relevant degree and indicate an aptitude for this area of management.

The requirements include at least:

• Second-class honours degree, Masters degree or clinical qualifications/membership of an allied health profession
• Experience working in healthcare or the healthcare sector as a manager or clinician may be considered as equivalent to a good honours degree where applicants can demonstrate impressive career development.

For those students whose first language is not English, the following qualification is also required:

• IELTS: 7.0

Please note that due to changes in the UKVI's list of SELTs we are no longer able to accept TOEFL as evidence of English language for students who require a CAS as of April 2014.