Master of Science in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies
Pavia, Italy
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
14 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 400 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* 1st call dedicated to EU and NON-EU applicants
** students may be eligible to apply for a flat rate or to tuition fees calculated according to their family income
Key Summary
The Master’s Degree program in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies prepares graduates with highly skilled in designing, analysing and researching biotechnologies in the biomedical and pharmaceutical field.
During a common first year, the students acquire skills and knowledge on the fundamentals of biotechnology, particularly concerning:
- stem cells and their use in various research fields;
- genetics in normal conditions and its modifications in diseases;
- engineered proteins and on RNA technology, as well as their dynamic interaction (system biology);
- biotechnological applications in biochemical/biomolecular diagnostics and in the development of biological markers;
- the biochemical and physiological aspects of human cells, tissues and organisms;
- the basis of human pathological processes of an infectious, metabolic, degenerative and tumor type, with reference to their cellular pathogenetic and molecular mechanisms;
In the second year, the student will choose between two curricula:
- The Medical Biotechnologies curriculum focuses on the pathogenetic mechanisms of diseases, human, non-pharmaceutical (vaccines, biological drugs, gene and cell therapy) and pharmaceutical therapies.
- The Pharmaceutical curriculum focuses on biotechnologies applied to the design, research and development, and analysis of innovative biotechnological drugs.
The formal approval of this program by the Italian Ministry of Education is expected by June 2022.
Programme Structure
First Year (common to both curricula)
- Cell technologies
- Genetic foundations (Genes and genomes; RNA Technologies & Protein Engineering & System Biology)
- Chemical and biochemical foundations (Drug discovery & biotechnological drugs; Biomarkers & biochemical diagnosis)
- The roots of disease I (Genetic)
- The roots of disease II (Physiological; Biochemical)
- The roots of disease III (Infectious, Metabolic, Degenerative & Cancer)
Second Year
Medical Biotechnologies Curriculum
- Non pharmaceuticals therapies I (Viruses & Vaccines; Immunotherapy; Gene Therapy)
- Non-pharmaceutical therapies II (Cell technologies & Cell Therapy)
- Pharmaceutical therapies (Drugs & Diseases)
- From Bench to bedside (Intellectual property law and Agencies and law; Essentials of preclinical and clinical trial monitoring)
- Techniques in Pathology
- Up to 3 subjects chosen from the list: Medical devices / Imaging / Biomolecular survey techniques in forensic genetics laboratory / Tissue engineering / Vaccines technologies / Bioinformatics / Medical statistics / Translational and molecular cardiology / Tossicologia forense (ita) / Riproduzione umana (ita)
- Other activities
- Dissertation
Pharmaceutical Curriculum
- Biotechnological Drugs Formulation & Patents
- Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design
- Biotechnological drugs ( Analytical techniques for biotechnological drugs; Analysis and quality control of biotechnological drugs)
- Nanobiotechnology
- Up to 3 subjects chosen from the list: Bioinformatics / Biopharmaceutics and formulation development / Design of Experiments / Biomacromolecules analysis Laboratory / Modelli sperimentali in biofarmaceutica (ita) / Veicolazione e Direzionamento dei Farmaci (ita)
- Other activities
- Dissertation
The degree program will allow graduates to research, analyse and produce biotechnologies in the following fields:
- biochemical, genetic and anatomo-functional of human cells, tissues and organisms;
- engineered proteins and RNA technology for the development of applications in the biomedical field;
- stem cells and their use in various fields of research and therapy;
- diagnostic, molecular and genetic applied to the biomedical field;
- human cellular and molecular pathological processes of an infectious, metabolic, degenerative and tumor type;
- design, production, analysis and formulation of innovative drugs and biopharmaceuticals
- analysis, processes and quality controls applied to biopharmaceuticals;
- nanotechnologies in the biopharmaceutical field and their applications in industry and research;
- business, management and marketing activities related to biotechnological products and patents.
Graduates of this master’s degree course can be hired in:
- Universities, public and private research institutes;
- Hospital laboratories;
- Pharmaceutical industries;
- Research and development laboratories and industrial production departments;
- Biotechnological service centers;
- Biotechnological companies.