Pharmaceutical Engineering Pharmaceutical Engineering

from gradsingapore STEM Career Guide 2023

Defence Technology Defence Technology

Engineers in the pharmaceuticals industry need strong interpersonal skills to work with people from varying backgrounds.

There’s a broad range of work in the pharmaceuticals sector. This includes drug manufacturing and development work, such as classic pharmaceuticals like prescribed medicines, biopharmaceuticals (like vaccines), medical technology and consumer business much like over-thecounter medicines.

Singapore is also widely acknowledged as a top-rated clinical and biomedical R&D centre in Asia, with a growing pharmaceutical ﬁeld – in spite of overall reductions in the manufacturing industry as a whole.

Its continued growth and highly advanced status have managed to attract leading biomedical companies such as GSK and Novartis, which contribute to a highly innovative and competitive industry landscape.

Pharmaceutical behemoth Sanofi Pasteur will be investing $638m over the course of five years and building a vaccine production centre in Singapore. The local government also formed the Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC) in 2019 to better integrate and organise the country’s pharmaceuticals ecosystem, and it has paid off – the industry is now worth an estimated $1.6b!

Career overview

Pharmaceutical engineers are mostly engaged in the research and manufacturing of prescriptions and products. However, they may also work alongside pharmacists and chemists to develop active medicinal ingredients before synthesising them into consumable products, or maintain and optimise pharmaceutical production facilities.

Projects involving pharmaceutical engineers typically have long timescales, ranging from seven to 10 years to develop a product, run clinical trials and launch it to the public. Despite the length of the projects, though, less than 10 per cent of products put on trial ever make it to the market.

This is because the industry is heavily regulated, and one of the side eﬀects is that the rate of change is slow, though it can also be fast-paced and demanding at times, such as the race to ﬁnd a vaccination to the Covid-19 virus.

On a lighter note, however, as most pharmaceutical companies tend to be global giants, pharmaceutical engineers have the opportunity to work anywhere in the world.

Trends and developments

Globally, the pharmaceutical sector is under pressure to make medication more affordable to patients in lower-income brackets and countries. Thus, companies are now investing in improving production efficiency and yields via automation to keep costs to patients low while still maintaining profit margins.

Constant regulatory updates on drug manufacturing quality is also another challenge that organisations face, and engineers are indispensable in the face of developing increasingly sophisticated production line monitoring and measurement systems in order to maintain higher production standards.

As there’s also an increased consumer demand for lifestyle- and age-related illness medication, focus on gene research and vaccine development has also heightened and led to trending growth in the production of biopharmaceutical and biological medical products worldwide.

Career highlights

Making a positive impact

Pharmaceutical engineers are able to directly contribute to the betterment of people’s health as well as help improve quality of life.

A dynamic industry

Graduates have the opportunity to work in a rapidly-evolving ﬁeld that encourages adoption of advanced medical technology, new products development and eﬀective manufacturing strategies. They may even have the chance to work on developing cutting-edge technology never exploited before!

Wide exposure

Because project teams are made up of diﬀerent disciplines – research is the purview of scientists and chemical engineers, while engineers from other disciplines and more corporate positions are involved in industrialisation and commercialisation – there’s a high level of exposure that translates into chances to learn about other departments and disciplines.

Required skills

• Able to take on high levels of responsibility

• Able to work in a fast-paced environment

• Able to work in a team

• Accountability

• Adaptability

• Patience (as projects have long timescales)

• Solid interpersonal skills

• Time management skills

For more than 25 years, the Biosensors International Group (Biosensors) has been designing, manufacturing and marketing innovative medical devices used during heart surgery and intensive care treatment.

Continually striving to be at the forefront of product innovation, with a focus on improving patient outcomes today, we are driving the development of tomorrow’s next generation medical technology.

In the year 2000, we entered the interventional cardiology market and immediately became the ﬁrst cardiology company to develop and patent their own proprietary limus agent, Biolimus A9™ (BA9™), a highly lipophilic anti-restenotic drug designed for cardiovascular stent technologies.

We were also the ﬁrst stent company to develop and launch a biodegradable polymer stent with only the abluminal side coated with polymer and drug to reduce systemic exposure.

Over the last two-decades Biosensors has become one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of cardiovascular stents globally. Our interventional cardiology products are designed to optimise patient outcomes.

Job roles

• Research and Development Engineer

• Process Development Research and Development Engineer

• Quality Engineer

• Microbiologist

Biosensors Interventional Technologies Pte Ltd

36 Jalan Tukang, Singapore 619266

Tel (+65) 6213 5777

Email recruit@biosensors.com

@Biosensors Interventional Technologies Pte Ltd

Sector(s)

• Engineering, Design and Manufacturing

• Healthcare and Pharmaceutical

Jobs available

Graduate job Internship

Minimum requirement

Degree Diploma

Number of employees

100 – 500 employees

Application period(s)

Graduate jobs: As and when needed

Internships: All year round

Changi Airport Group is ﬁrst and foremost a service company. We operate Singapore Changi Airport, the world’s most awarded airport, and help develop and manage airports worldwide. Our people are our most important asset in our mission to be the world’s leading airport company, growing a vibrant air hub in Singapore and enhancing the communities we serve worldwide.

We aspire to build a company where ordinary people achieve extraordinary results. Our people have a passion for service and are committed to teamwork, integrity and excellence. Working together with our colleagues and partners to achieve the best outcome, we deliver innovative services and create a world-class experience for our customers.

Changi Airport Group offers a unique work environment in a global, vibrant and exciting airport community. With a set-up of multiple businesses, we present challenging work and diverse opportunities for our employees to further their personal and professional growth, providing a platform for them to develop and see through their ideas and contributions, making an impact to our organisation and to the communities we serve locally and globally.

Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Singapore Changi Airport, PO Box 168, Singapore 918146

Web careers.changiairport.com

Email campusrelations@dso.org.sg @changiairport @changiairport @Changi Airport Group @changiairport @changiairport