How medicine development is woven together by the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research

The UK is a significant player in the development of medicines, conducting a large number of early clinical trials compared with other countries. This high volume might suggest that the drug development process is effortless, but the reality of bringing medicines to market is nowhere near as simple.

A drug candidate will be identified through the efforts of discovery chemists and biologists, before patent protection, toxicology testing, medicine design and then clinical trials. The final steps include registering the new medicine with regulatory authorities and commercialisation in the global market.

For global medicines development executives, overseeing this process is a herculean task that requires a diverse skill set and a high level of technical competence in disciplines including the pharmacology and chemistry of the drugs, the expertise in designing and safely running toxicology studies and clinical trials, and an awareness of medicines design and manufacturing. That’s not to mention the legal, regulatory and financial required knowledge to enable the use of the medicine in patients and bring it to the marketplace.

What is unique about the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research? 

That’s where the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research comes into play. Whereas many academic institutes will focus on one specific area, such as drug discovery, the Centre’s education and research takes a holistic approach of the entire process of developing medicines from discovery to marketplace.

This approach makes it a unique place in pharmaceutical research unlike any other in the UK: it is a collaboration between academics, clinicians and >100 industrial practitioners that are King’s visiting staff but still work to develop medicines. They bring the latest experience and expertise from their corners of industry to the Centre.

The Centre’s research focuses on three major themes – 1. ‘Improving clinical development’ (which looks to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of medicines failing as they are being developed), 2. ‘improving patient engagement and safety’ (by partnering with patients in the development of new medicines and continually trying to improve patient safety) and 3. ‘improving access to medicines’ (by seeking to facilitate a more rapid, wider, access to affordable medicines).

These research themes are woven through the fabric of the Centre, inspiring research projects (the Centre currently has 9 PhD projects) and underpinning its education. This includes its four MSc programmes (Clinical Pharmacology, Drug Development Science, Medical Affairs, Stem Cells and Regenerative Therapies), plus the UK’s only Integrated MSc Apprenticeship in Clinical Pharmacology, and a range of short courses to support career progression for medicines development professionals.

But what does the journey of a student look like within one of these programmes?

The life of a student on the Centre's programmes

An MSc student in any one of its programmes will find themselves sat with people from all walks of life. New postgraduate students will share seminars with pharmacists, clinicians, civil servants and regulators, people who work in industry and the occasional CEO of a pharmaceutical company or start-up. They will cross paths with every student of the Centre in at least one of 15 modules offered between the master’s courses.

These modules cover a variety of disciplines with ones you would expect from a biosciences master’s, from nonclinical and early clinical development, pharmacology and biostatistics to modules which are more specific to medicines development such as healthcare economics, and medical affairs – the last of which focuses on scientific and commercial support for medicines after their development.

Each module has its own team of staff with backgrounds as varied as their students. As well as the visiting academics, the Centre brings together different organisations involved in the pharmaceutical industry; one day some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies (for example, GSK and Pfizer) might be welcomed, and the next one will bring regulators from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Centre even borrows from the wider expertise of King’s, such as inviting staff from the Law Department or King’s Policy Institute for teaching on healthcare policy.

All of this provides a unique teaching experience when compared to other pharmaceutical master’s. Its director, Professor Stuart Jones, compares it to an MBA as the Centre generates graduates with the skills to manage medicines development rather than work in a medicines development lab.

Placements within each part of industry are available, ensuring students have a starting point in their area of interest. Data from LinkedIn shows that over 83% of their graduates begin, or continue, working within the pharmaceutical sector within two years, with most graduates finding their place in their role of choice in the industry.

How the Centre is involved in the wider pharmaceutical sector

Alongside its teaching and research, the Centre regularly runs events that bring people together to critically evaluate the medicines development process. The Centre has recently hosted a symposium on patient engagement, and one on evaluating remote (or decentralised) clinical trials. They also work with partners to host events that try to solve some of the big problems facing the global pharmaceutical industry and to increase capacity and interest in medicines development.

One recent example was a symposium hosted in Egypt, where the Centre brought together its research centres and key stakeholders from countries to explore how they could collectively develop their pharmaceutical industry. The Centre has worked with countries that are either looking to develop its pharmaceutical sector or resolve conflicts between different areas of the sector. Trinidad & Tobago is an example, who commissioned the Centre to help optimise their medicines approval process.

Though the Centre hasn’t yet heavily focused on providing expertise for consultancy work or advisory collaborations, Professor Jones’ hopes that the Centre can offer this more in the coming years.

And that’s not all the future holds, as the Centre is launching its international, online, master’s in MSc in Global Medicines Development in September 2025. This will grow its cohort to over 200 students, making it the biggest centre for taught postgraduate students in the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s.

As the world looks to meet the new challenges of medicines development such as antimicrobial resistance, or explore new opportunities offered by avenues like personalised medicine, the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research will be at the forefront of weaving together the threads of an ever-growing pharmaceutical sector to meet these challenges.