MBA Pharmaceutical Management

MBA in Pharmaceutical Management

Last Updated: August 25, 2024

1 5,664 4 minutes read

What is Pharma MBA?

Pharma MBA is a full-time course that focuses on preparing students for entering the pharmaceutical industry. It provides entry into domains like Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Consultancy, Market Research, IT & Healthcare, Medical Communication, Diagnostics, Nutraceuticals, etc.

mba in pharma management

Why MBA in Pharmaceutical Management?

The following information reflects the strength and potential of the pharmaceutical industry.

Indian Pharmaceutical Sector supplies over 25% of all medicines for the UK, 40% of the generic demand for the US and 50% of global demand for various vaccines.
India’s pharmaceutical market(domestic) turnover was around Rs. 1.4 lakh crore in 2019. The pharmaceutical sales grew 9% year on year to Rs. 10,342 crore in May 2020.
India contributes the second-largest share of the biotech and pharmaceutical workforce in the world.

The Indian pharmaceutical sector is expected to grow to $100 billion and the medical device market to $25 billion by 2025.

What is the MBA Pharmaceutical Management Admission Process?

The students interested in Pharma MBA can target significant entrance exams like CAT, XAT, CMAT, SNAP, NMAT, CET, etc. Most of the Pharma MBA colleges will have 2 stage admission process that involves shortlisting students on the basis of entrance exams in the first stage.

In the second round, the shortlisted students go through Group Discussion(GD)/Written Ability Test(WAT) and Personal Interview(PI).

The MBA/MMS institutes in Maharashtra provide admission on the basis of entrance exam only i.e. MBA CET. None of these institutes host pharma MBA course but still have recruiters from the Pharma domain visiting the campus. Examples are Himalaya, GSK, Zydus, Macleods, Kantar Health, Wockhardt, etc.

MBA in Pharmaceutical Management Eligibility Criteria

Most of the students targeting pharma MBA have a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy, Medicine, Biology, Chemistry and other Life Sciences. Is this a trend or compulsion? The answer is, No. Students from any graduation background can opt for a pharma MBA.

A minimum of 50% aggregate in the bachelor’s degree from a recognized institute. 45% for reserved category students.

MBA Pharmaceutical Management Syllabus

Most of the institutes will have common subjects in the first year of the course.

Source: NMIMS Mumbai
	Trimester I	Trimester II	Trimester III
Business Environment and Strategy	Pharma Business Environment Principles and Practices of Management in Pharma Industry	Research Methodology Ethical Issues in Management	Legal Environment of Organizations Strategic Management Corporate Social Responsibility
Communication	Written Communication	Oral Communication Spanish /Mandarin	Spanish/Mandarin
Economics	Microeconomics	Macroeconomics
Finance Area	Financial Accounting and Analysis	Cost and Management Accounting	Financial Management
Human Resource and Behavioral Sciences	Individual Dynamics and Leadership	Group and Organizational Dynamics	Human Resource Management
Information System			Information System for Management
Marketing Area	Marketing Management Listening to Customers – I Marketing of Medical Devices	Principles and Practices of Sales Management Listening to Customers – II Consumer Behavior in Pharma Brand Management in Pharma	Listening to Customers- III Business Development in Pharma Pharma Brand Promotion- I Marketing Research
Operations and Decision Sciences	Statistical Analysis	Operations Management

Source: NMIMS Mumbai
	Trimester IV	Trimester V	Trimester VI
Business Environment and Strategy	Managing IPR in Pharma Strategic Brand Management in Pharma Managing the Frontline Manager
Finance Area		Strategic Financial Management
Human Resource and Behavioral Sciences	Managing Innovation in Pharma OB in Pharma	People Management	Managing the Self in Organizational Context
Marketing Area	Pharma Brand Promotion II Marketing Research(LTS)-4 (Weekly Fieldwork, Preparation of Questionnaire, Research design, Review of Fieldwork) Launching a New Product Marketing Analytics I	Marketing of API Pricing Strategy in Pharma Industry Good Marketing Practices Marketing Strategy and Implementation Strategic Brand Marketing Plan Option 1 (Any one) Marketing Practices in International Markets in Pharma Launching a New Division	Business Leadership in Pharma Marketing Analytics II Strategic Brand Marketing Plan Country Analysis and Pharma Clusters Emotional Branding Option 2 (Any one) Managing Multinational Companies Promotion of Medical Devices to Hospitals CRM Practices in Pharma
Operations and Decision Sciences	Managing Quality and Regulatory Practices in Pharma Managing Distribution Channels in Pharma	Strategic Procurement Good Manufacturing Practices	Supply Chain Management in Pharma

Skill Set required for Pharma MBA

There is no such requirement of a particular skill set. The students from pharmaceutical graduation will have an edge for their technical know-how of the domain. The same logic applies for a mechanical engineer opting for Operations MBA or a computer science engineer opting for IT Systems MBA etc.

Career in Pharma MBA

The salary range for an entry-level job(executive) ranges from Rs. 4.5 LPA to Rs. 6 LPA then the scale goes on increasing on the basis of department offered and experience. The students can make a career in

Quality Control Management
Pharmaceutical Policy, Laws & Regulatory Management
Clinical Research and Business Development
Pharmaceutical Industry Management
Supply Chain Management
Sales and Market Research & Management
Pharma Product Management

Jobs after Pharma MBA

Sales Manager
Drug Distribution Manager
Formulation Pharmaceutical
Market Researcher & Drug Developer
Pharmaceuticals Distributors
Pharmaceutical Purchase Manager
Technology Scientist
Business Development Manager
Quality Assurance Manager
Professional Sales Executive
Area Sales Manager
Regional/ Zonal Sales Manager
Product Executive
Training & Development
HR Sales

Recruiters in Pharmaceutical Domain

Alkem, Accurex, Cipla, GSK, Zydus, Macleods, Lupin, Zuventus, Rubicon, Mankind, Alembic, Sun Pharma, Glenmark, Abbott, Wockhardt, Novartis, Regrow, SunDyota Numandis, Fortis, Biocon, Ranbaxy, Johnson & Johnson, etc.

Top Colleges for MBA in Pharmaceutical Management

The following table enlists institutes with a dedicated pharma MBA course. Remember, all the top MBA institutes in India have recruiters from the Pharma domain visiting the campus. Most of the Pharma MBA aspirants will choose IIMs, Top Non-IIMs that hosts recruiters from the pharmaceutical industry.

Institute	Average Salary
NMIMS Mumbai	Rs. 7+ LPA
IES Mumbai	Rs. 6 LPA
IIHMR University	Rs. 5+ LPA
SIES Mumbai	Rs. 6+ LPA

MBA Specializations

Marketing	Finance	Operations
Human Resources	Health Care Management	Retail Management
Rural Management	Business Analytics	IT Systems
International Business	General Management	Pharma Management

Last Updated: August 25, 2024

1 5,664 4 minutes read

MBA Pharmaceutical Management

MBA in Pharmaceutical Management