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PHA-30021 - Module Specification
School of Allied Health Professions and Pharmacy
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 16 September 2026

PHA-30021 - The Pharmaceutical Industry at the Cutting Edge
Coordinator: David Morgan Room: HORBM1.04 Tel: +44 1782 7 33474
Lecture Time:
Level: Level 6
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

The global pharmaceutical industry has experienced substantial change in recent years. In order to stay abreast of current developments graduates must have a high-level awareness of both the science and the business of the global pharmaceutical industry. They must understand not only the teams they will be a member of but also understand the holistic nature of the global business and how different teams work together synergistically within the relevant frameworks. The global pharmaceutical research scientist and industry pharmaceutical business professional are, today, going to be more involved in the evaluation of scientific data and the business case involved in new science acquisition. Graduates must leave with a significant awareness of how to operate in this environment and understand the contribution of each function, within the industry, to bringing a new molecule from research to the market. This module will continue the delivery of management training and provide significant detail and awareness of the Strategic Partnering and Business Development skills essential for this environment.
Complex synergistic relationships within the global pharmaceutical industry will be placed within the context of product development and the product life cycle, including post-marketing pharmacovigilance. Pharmaceutical manufacture will be emphasised in the context of outsourcing and global / local sourcing and supply chain strategies. Principles and practicalities of product marketing will be discussed in the context of appropriate global codes of conduct. This includes discussions of financial models and extensions, such as divestment, spin-offs and franchising. Underpinning this will be the concepts and practices securing global patents and protection of intellectual property.
Sitting in the final year of the programme, this module will develop the management and leadership skills of students and how they will interact with, negotiate with and influence their peers and partners. This includes the principles of media interaction and its application to successful product development and marketing.
The module will be delivered by experts with significant experience across the breadth of the pharmaceutical industry, thus ensuring that the graduates leave not just with an excellent scientific portfolio of knowledge and experience, but also with an awareness of where they fit within the multi-disciplinary teams that they will be a part of when they join the industry. Input from external stakeholders will ensure that the module, and the programme, is relevant and fully up to date both in its scientific and business content.


Aims
This module aims to develop students’ knowledge of the complex synergistic relationships within the global pharmaceutical industry of the 21st century by placing their studies in the context of product development and the product life cycle, including post-marketing pharmacovigilance. Pharmaceutical manufacture will be emphasised in the context of outsourcing and global / local sourcing and supply chain strategies. Principles and practicalities of product marketing will be discussed in the context of appropriate global codes of conduct. This includes discussions of financial models and extensions, such as divestment, spin-offs and franchising. Underpinning this, as seen across all three Levels of the programme, will be the concepts and practices securing global patents and protection of intellectual property. This module will also seek to develop the management and leadership skills of students and how they will interact with, negotiate with and influence their peers and partners. This includes the principles of media interaction and its application to successful product development and marketing.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Construct a Target Product Profile (TPP) that articulates a product's value proposition, integrating scientific, regulatory and business evidence.: 1,2
Apply core scientific, technical and regulatory principles of pharmaceutical product development to real-world case scenarios (e.g. formulation, manufacturing, or regulatory submission).: 2,3
Analyse complex pharmaceutical data sets (e.g. laboratory, clinical, regulatory, or commercial) to support product-development decision-making within a Target Product Profile framework.: 2,3
Communicate complex scientific, regulatory and business concepts clearly and persuasively, in written and oral formats appropriate to professional pharmaceutical practice.: 1,3

Study hours

Lectures/tutorials: 30 hours
Workshops: 30 hours
Directed private study and assessment: 240 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Poster weighted 30%
Target Product Profile poster
Students will create and defend a poster, proposing a Target Product Profile for a real drug in early development.

2: Group Assessment weighted 30%
Lead optimisation screening workshop group portfolio
Students, will work in groups of 5-6, with membership assigned during the first workshop. Over a series of 6 full-day workshops, students in their groups will analyse data sets representing synthesised stages in the drug development pathway. It is expected that students share these tasks within the group, rather than individual students completing all tasks. Data-interpretation and decision-making skills, based on the data analysed, will be used to complete an online workbook in the workshop. Students will be supported and receive live formative-feedback from members of academic staff during the workshop. The online worksheets will be submitted at the end of the workshop. Each group will submit a single completed version of the workbook. The marks from the entire portfolio (as a % of the total available marks) will provide the summative assessment for all members of each group. Marks are not awarded for missed workshops which would only affect the individual, not the group.

3: Viva weighted 40%
Defense of clinical candidates
Students will synthesise the information generated in assessment 2 to generate a summary document outlining the strengths and weaknesses of clinical candidate molecules. They will defend the decisions implicit in this document in a 20 minute viva. Students will be given a thorough briefing on what this viva entails, with an opportunity to raise questions. Written guidance on the conceptual areas that we will test will be included in the briefing and the assessment brief.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 16 September 2026