From new medications to genetics, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries harness biological processes to meet our society’s commercial and health-related needs.

• Prepare for an exciting career in a vital, fast-growing field.
• Gain the scientific and laboratory skills to conduct research that can improve lives.
• Develop the administrative skills to advance in the biotech industry.

Career Outcomes

Pharmaceutical biotechnology draws upon such disciplines as microbiology, biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology. The biopharmaceutical industry employed 55,446 people and was responsible for a total of 130,464 jobs in New York State in 2009. The industry generated $29.1 billion in total output of which $16 billion was generated from direct employment. In 2012, New York State will invest some $50 million in the biosciences through the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. These investments will enable further growth in a field that supports some 250,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and contributes over $32 billion a year to the state’s economic output, according to an analysis by the New York Biotechnology Association (NYBA).

Companies and agencies that specialize in pharmaceutical biotechnology seek skilled professionals to meet the industry’s scientific and administrative demands. Career opportunities abound in clinical labs, information technology, large pharmaceuticals, research labs and even small start-ups. You can prepare for these careers through the Master of Science Degree Program in Biological and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at St. John’s University. This interdisciplinary program is a joint effort of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — two acclaimed divisions of St. John’s University.