Pharmaceutical Engineering (B.Sc.)

Pharmaceutical Engineering is a specialization within the intersection of Process Engineering and Life Sciences. The use of these engineers is focused on the industrial healthcare sector, in particular the pharmaceutical industry. Why? Drug substances are very special products. Their ingredients, called active ingredients, interact selectively with parts of the human body. Therefore, these active ingredients must have special quality characteristics in terms of content, purity and overall application. And this begins with the raw material and its first processing stage and continues through special dosage forms to the packaged product, which reaches patients and consumers via pharmacies.

The training of a Pharmaceutical Engineering technician is therefore multifaceted: STEM basics and Process Engineering knowledge are taught. Pharmaceutical fundamentals are also taught: active ingredient science, pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutical technology. The analytical methods for product control are demonstrated practically for the respective galenic production. Logistics, packaging technology, good manufacturing practice (GMP) and pharmaceutical law are also taught.

A special feature of the Pharmaceutical Technology degree course at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences is the joint foundation course at Department 7 in the first 2 to 3 semesters. Here, engineering and scientific basics are taught and an insight into all of the Department's degree programs is provided. You can then choose one of the 4 degree programs Biotechnology, Food Technology, Pharmaceutical Engineering or Process Engineering and have maximum flexibility in specializing for your future career.

One of the main areas of activity of Pharmaceutical Engineering (Bachelor) is product quality control: with around 3000 active ingredients approved in Germany, there are around 10,000 different forms of application, also known as dosage forms: Tablets, coated tablets, suppositories, ointments and gels, emulsions, sprays or infusion solutions. In addition, every single process from the raw material to the finished product is put under control: Grinding, drying, granulating, pressing, coating and so on. It is precisely these procedural processes that need to be monitored by the Pharmaceutical Engineering technician; optimization of methods, validation of processes and troubleshooting become everyday tasks. The goal is always the high quality of a product that can save human lives and improve quality of life!