What medicinal chemists do

Meet some medicinal chemists

• Associate scientist   – pharmaceuticals | developing medicines
• Bioanalytical scientist  – medicinal concentrations | patient samples analysis
• Medicinal chemist  – designing target molecules | malaria treatments
• Peptide chemistry apprentice  – peptide engineering | peptide longevity
• Process chemist  – improving chemical reactions | HIV treatments
  

What medicinal chemists do

Medicinal chemists design, synthesise and test new compounds that may become new medicines for treating diseases and improving people’s quality of life. For example, medicinal chemists are working on developing new medicines to treat diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. They are constantly researching, creating and testing new compounds that might go on to preclinical research and clinical trials. In addition to creating new medicines, medicinal chemists develop and improve existing medicines – their work is vital in drug discovery and development.

What medicinal chemists work on

Examples of the types of products they create and develop include:

• antibiotics – for treating bacterial infections.
• antibodies – for developing immunity to bacterial and viral infections.
• antihistamines – to alleviate symptoms of allergic reactions.
• painkillers – for example, paracetamols and aspirin.

Knowledge and skills required

Medicinal chemists need to understand the properties of different compounds and how they will interact within the human body. They need strong knowledge across different science areas like biochemistry, organic chemistry, toxicology and pharmacology. They require excellent practical skills as they will work in labs, using laboratory equipment to create and test new compounds, following health and safety procedures.

Future skills: some companies are already utilising AI in drug discovery. AI-based technologies like machine learning might be increasingly used to predict molecular characteristics. Medicinal chemists with coding skills might have an advantage when applying for roles.

What a medicinal chemist’s role typically involves

• Innovation. Designing new compounds with the aim of treating diseases and conditions safely and effectively. For example, designing new target molecules that could treat diabetes.
• Research skills. Researching information from chemistry databases and applying the knowledge to inform and improve work.
• Practical techniques. Making and purifying new compounds in a laboratory using the required instrumentation and practical techniques, following best practices. For example, making new molecules in the laboratory that could treat tuberculosis.
• Analytical testing. Testing the target molecules they develop using scientific equipment to ensure they are safe and effective. They may use analytical techniques such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Mass Spectrometry (MS) and chromatography, producing data from their results.
• Data analysis. Analysing the data they produce from their experiments to investigate the functionality and properties of the compounds they produce. In addition to producing internal data, medicinal chemists refer to external data such as toxicological data to ensure safety and regulatory compliance.
• Digital skills. For example, using cheminformatics tools (software) to analyse chemical data, search chemical databases and design molecules. Coding might also be helpful if the company uses AI-technologies such as machine learning to predict molecular characteristics. 
• Communication. Producing written reports and discussing results and improvements with internal teams. More research-focussed roles might require presenting findings at conferences and writing excerpts for scientific publications.
• Project management. Working on their company’s projects, communicating results to project teams and meeting strict deadlines. As such, they will need strong project management skills.
• Resilience. Accepting that many experiments will produce unexpected results. Medicinal chemists need to learn from their findings, problem solve and try again to make improvements in the experiments they run and molecules they design.

Where medicinal chemists work

Medicinal chemists typically work in industrial or academic laboratories that are developing and discovering new medicines. Here are some examples of where medicinal chemists may be employed:

• Biopharmaceutical companies. Combining practices from biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to create and develop medicines.
• Biotechnology companies. Using products from living organisms (eg plants, bacteria and fungi) to create and develop medicines (biologics).
• Charity sector. Working at organisations such as the Institute of Cancer Research, Cancer Research UK and Parkinson’s UK. 
• Hospitals. Working with cross-functional teams of healthcare professionals to create and develop new medicines.
• Pharmaceutical companies. Using synthetic compounds to create and develop medicines (drugs).
• Universities and research institutes. Getting involved in research projects to advance drug discovery and development. In academia, medicinal chemists might contribute towards writing research publications and might teach and present at conferences.

Routes into becoming a medicinal chemist

Typically, the minimum entry requirement is a bachelor’s degree in chemistry or a related field. Some companies may require a master’s qualification or PhD – especially if their work is more research focussed. Work experience is considered an advantage for entering this type of role – for example, carrying out an industrial placement as part of a degree programme or undertaking an internship. Find out more about different Higher Education options. Browse degrees that are accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry.