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Studies & Degrees in Biochemical Pharmacy

Biochemical pharmacy combines the study of medicines with the laboratory sciences that sit behind them. The name comes from Latin America, where the pharmacy degree has traditionally trained one professional for two workplaces: the pharmacy, where medicines are prepared and dispensed, and the laboratory, where clinical samples, food and drugs are analysed. In Brazil the degree is known as Farmácia-Bioquímica, and the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) still lists its pharmacy course under that name.

Students start with the basic sciences. The Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas of USP states that the course requires knowledge of biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Later subjects deal with how drugs are discovered, made and controlled, how they act in the body, and how laboratory tests are carried out and interpreted. The São Paulo faculty is organised in four departments that show the breadth of the field: food, clinical analysis, pharmacy and technology.

Qualifications and levels

The route into the profession differs by country, and so does the place of biochemistry within it.

  • Brazil. At USP the course is offered on the São Paulo and Ribeirão Preto campuses. In São Paulo it is taught full time or in the evening and lasts at least five years. In Ribeirão Preto it is a full-time, five-year course. Graduates are bachelors in pharmacy. The Ribeirão Preto faculty used the name Farmácia-Bioquímica for the curriculum of students who entered from 2017 to 2019; its current curriculum, in force since 2023, is called Farmácia.
  • Argentina. Pharmacy and biochemistry are separate degrees. The Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica of the Universidad de Buenos Aires lists Farmacia and Bioquímica as two different courses, next to degrees in biotechnology and in food science and technology.
  • Spain. Pharmacist is a regulated profession. The official bachelor's degree (grado) that gives access to it has 300 ECTS credits, more than the 240 ECTS credits of a standard grado. Master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.
  • United States. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, pharmacists typically need a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree from an accredited programme. These programmes usually take four years and typically require at least two years of prerequisite undergraduate courses. Every state requires pharmacists to be licensed. Biochemistry is a separate science degree; a PhD is needed for independent research and development positions.

A pharmacy degree obtained in one country does not automatically allow its holder to practise in another. Students who plan to work abroad should ask the professional body or ministry of the destination country how a foreign qualification is recognised.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists one active school for biochemical pharmacy: the Universidade de São Paulo, in Brazil. USP is a public university of the state of São Paulo. Its Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas is on the university campus in the city of São Paulo, and the Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto is on the Ribeirão Preto campus.

USP publishes its course information in Portuguese, and Portuguese is the working language of Brazilian public universities. International applicants should ask the faculty which admission routes are open to them and which language level is expected. Students who look for the same subject in other countries will usually find it under pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, biochemistry or clinical analysis.

Careers

The São Paulo faculty names the sectors where its graduates work: the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, chemical-pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries; dispensing and compounding pharmacies; hospital pharmacy; toxicology; clinical analysis; pharmacovigilance; university teaching; and research in public or private institutes. The Ribeirão Preto faculty states that the profession has more than 70 branches of activity. Among them it lists medicines and cosmetics from research to sale, clinical analysis, food control, environmental control of water and soil, management of health establishments and health surveillance.

For the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of pharmacists to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035. It describes pharmaceutical industry pharmacists as working in areas such as marketing, sales, or research and development. Employment of biochemists and biophysicists is projected to grow 12 percent over the same period. These figures describe the US labour market only.

Frequently asked questions

Is biochemical pharmacy the same as pharmacy?

It is a pharmacy degree with a strong laboratory component, mainly clinical analysis. At USP the course listed as Farmácia-bioquímica leads to a bachelor's qualification in pharmacy.

How long does the degree take?

At the Universidade de São Paulo the course lasts at least five years, full time or in the evening in São Paulo and full time in Ribeirão Preto. In Spain the pharmacy grado has 300 ECTS credits.

Which school subjects are needed?

The USP pharmacy faculty in São Paulo states that the course requires knowledge of basic sciences such as biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics.

Can graduates work in a clinical laboratory?

In Brazil, clinical analysis is one of the fields that the USP faculties list for their pharmacy graduates. In other countries laboratory work may require a different degree, so check the rules of the country where you want to work.