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Full-Time MBA concentration in Pharmaceutical Management

Want to build a successful career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries? You've come to the right place.

Why biopharma companies recruit Rutgers MBA students

Rutgers Business School is ranked among the top 5 B-schools for healthcare, pharma and biotech worldwide and is a hub for pharmaceutical knowledge and connections.

Our students are driven. Our alumni are successful. Our faculty are in-the-know.

All that's missing is you.

Connected to Industry

More than half of the 20 largest pharma companies worldwide – companies like Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Novo Nordisk and Bayer Healthcare – call New Jersey home. So do a network of teaching hospitals and medical schools here and in neighboring New York City. If access to Big Pharma and healthcare is what you are looking for, Rutgers Business School is uniquely positioned to deliver.

Over the years, we've developed a legacy of strong relationships within this space that inform curriculum, enhance the student experience and connect students to jobs.

Our corporate partnerships provide you with access to industry-hosted seminars, and help support the prestigious Industry Scholars Program—a full-tuition scholarship for eligible Full-Time MBA students that offers meaningful internship opportunities and enhances employment prospects with industry giants.

The proof is in the numbers: More than 35% of Full-Time MBA students go on to jobs in pharma, biotech and healthcare.

Curriculum

Our Pharmaceutical Management MBA curriculum is in sync with the rhythm of the industry, which means you'll enter the workforce with readily applicable knowledge taught to you by distinguished academics and former executives. The Pharma MBA experience is the best of theory and practice.

Our curriculum is expansive and addresses a variety of issues affecting the industry today.

Rutgers STEM MBA

You can now choose to earn a STEM degree with any of our MBA concentrations. To qualify, you must complete 50% of the total required degree credits for your program with courses that fall under STEM. The Core Curriculum provides 9 STEM credits. I you are seeking the STEM certification, you should take Data Analysis & Decision Making as a Foundation course, at least 3 STEM-designated Concentration Courses, and additional STEM Foundation or Elective courses.

(*) Indicates a STEM-designated course

Course Descriptions

Required Courses

Area 1 - The Pharmaceutical Industry

22:373:621 - Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This course will help aspiring executives in the pharmaceutical firms to develop the knowledge, skills and ethical compass to succeed in this environment. The topics covered include research ethics, bioethics, intellectual property, healthcare reform, and drug marketing. This course exposes students to a diversity of perspectives from academic and industry point of view. It uses Harvard Business School cases that give students opportunities to learn by making executive-level decisions in real-world business context. Students will be expected to (1) participate actively in the case studies, (2) complete three written assignments of 5-8 pages, and (3) participate in one end-of-term group presentation on a timely topic in drug policy.

22:223:607 - Pharmaceutical Industry: Issues, Structure & Dynamics

This course contains weekly presentations by pharmaceutical industry professionals on topics relevant to the bio pharmaceutical industry, the topics include drug approval process, FDA’s relationship with the industry, pricing strategies, intellectual property & patents, genomics, licensing & partnering, market structure , mergers & acquisitions, and other. Students are evaluated based on three equally weighted papers of their choice.

Prerequisites or Corequisite: U.S Healthcare System & Pharmaceutical Managed Markets

22:373:622 - U.S. Healthcare System & Pharmaceutical Managed Markets

The health care industry in the United States is one of the most controversial and changing systems in the global economy. In recent years it has transformed into a conglomerate of public and private entities; each with its own agenda, funding sources and place in the market. Topics of discussion will include characteristics of the health care system, public/private sector roles, health care markets, managed care impact, congressional proposals, health policy changes, health care reform strategies, and the role of patients/consumers. The primary focus of this course will be how these influences relate to the business of pharmaceuticals.

Area 2 - Pharmaceutical Marketing

22:630:619 - Managing the Pharmaceutical Sales Organization

In the pharmaceutical market, sales and share growth are results of needs based, consultative selling complimented by various other marketing tools and tactics. The promotional, consultative approach to selling complements the overall marketing strategies. Leadership and management of sales force are critically important to the success of a product. The course will address all of these issues. In addition, students will spend a day in the field along with an actual field rep to get a feel of the job "Day in the Life of a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative" followed by an active, participatory session focusing on the tactics required to drive a marketing plan from a sales perspective.

Prerequisite: All MBA core courses

22:630:617 - Pharmaceutical Marketing Research

This course examines the role of Marketing Research in four fundamental ways: (1) identification of a marketing problem and translation of that problem into an appropriate scientific question, (2) selections of the most appropriate data collection procedures using the most appropriate sample, (3) the development of analytics for reporting the “whats” of the data but more importantly answering the “whys” behind the relationships among the data, and (4) how to report the results in the most meaningful way that translates the insights into actionable recommendations.

Prerequisite: 22:630:550 or 22:630:586 Marketing Management

22:630:618 - Pharmaceutical Product Management

This course focuses on ‘real-world’ marketing challenges faced in the pharmaceutical industry. Topics of exploration include: product development, lifecycle planning, competitive analysis, coordination with the sales force, positioning/messaging, business development and monitoring performance. It will examine the various roles a product manager performs both internally and externally. A comprehensive marketing/launch plan for a phase III drug will be developed. Lectures will be supplemented by guest speakers and case studies.

Prerequisite: 22:630:550 or 22:630:586 Marketing Management

22:630:684 - Market Access and Reimbursements for Drugs

Decisions we make about our health are critically important, and yet as patients and consumers, we are often ill informed. A variety of well-meaning third parties – providers, payers, pharmacists, and politicians (among others) – influence our access to drugs and the price we pay for them. This course will explore the complex variety of transactions that takes place between the development and manufacturing of a pharmaceutical product and financial mechanisms that influence the payer, provider, and the patient, including the following:

  • Pharmaceutical pricing models
  • Innovative contracting
  • Reimbursement and coding
  • Cause and effect of patient cost offsets

This course cannot be used as an elective towards the Marketing concentration.

Students must select 5 of the 7 electives for the concentration.

Members of the Rutgers Biopharmaceutical Case Competition team pose in front of the competition banner

Board of Advisors

The Rutgers MBA in Pharmaceutical Management was designed with substantial industry input. Members of the Board of Advisors work to ensure that the curriculum remains relevant by providing ongoing advice and guidance. They also interview every candidate for an industry scholarship, play a key role in organizing monthly industry seminars, and serve as valuable ambassadors for their companies. 

Program Sponsors

I've experienced the training first-hand and I see it in all of the students I recruit each and every year. It's the industry involvement ... the alums coming back and speaking, as well as the coursework and the framework for the pharma industry that really prepares the students. They've learned the skills at Rutgers Business School that they can now apply at work each and every day and it propels them, not just to be great marketers, to be great supply chain experts, but to be great leaders ...
—  Gregg Ruppersberger, Group Product Director, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.