Pharmaceutical Manufacturing – also referred to as drug manufacturing – is the industrial-scale process involved in the manufacturing and delivery of pharmaceutical drugs by their developers.
There are two main legs to the pharma manufacturing industry: Primary (or Bulk) Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Secondary (or Pharmaceutical) Manufacturing. The first relates to the chemical substance itself, whereas the latter concerns the actual production of the product. Secondary Manufacturing may also take into account the state of the product (solid or liquid).
There is often a cross over between Manufacturing roles and those working within Quality Assurance and Quality Control.
A career within drug manufacturing would be a fantastic opportunity for someone who loves problem solving and comes from an engineering or science background.
Alternatively, an apprenticeship within manufacturing gives young people the opportunity to earn while they learn, developing the skills required by employers. Unlike some other careers within the Pharma industry, it may not be necessary to have a life-sciences (or similar) degree to get your foot in the door here. However, if you are looking to enter this sector with a degree, it’s important you also have some relevant work experience or an industry placement to help your CV stand out from the others.
Many people are drawn to a career within drug manufacturing for the opportunities to work with leading-edge equipment in state-of-the-art facilities. The sector also offers a diverse range of roles to work across, as well as the opportunity to seek roles within other sectors (Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance and Quality Control).
CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) Engineering involves multi-discipline engineering and project management activities, which work to a budget allocated for ‘new’ investments. These are referred to as Capital projects and are conducted across multiple project phases, and engineering streams. Occurring typically within manufacturing or production, these investments will often focus on expansions to existing sites, construction of new manufacturing/production facilities, and/or the implementation of supplementary equipment to existing lines. This is in contrast to OPEX activities, which would involve funds allocated to the improvement or maintenance of ongoing operations. A full-scope capital project would progress through 5 key phases, known as the project life cycle, which are listed below:
Within each of these phases you will find many different skillsets and technical expertise, some of which are listed below.
Working within CAPEX engineering is highly attractive for a variety of individuals, but especially to those who enjoy working across a variety of critical investments across multiple different industry ‘silos’. Throughout a career in CAPEX engineering, you could expect to take part in dozens of different high-value projects across the life science industry, working within, or on the behalf of, a variety of clients. Contracting is very common in this market.
In terms of career progression, common paths tend to follow one of two routes:
CAPEX Engineering covers a wide variety of disciplines across multiple phases. Here are some examples:
