Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences (MSc)
In the Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences specialisation (a fusion of three previous specialisations: Drug Discovery and Safety, BioTherapeutics, and System Biomedicine and Pharmacology) you will perform research on various topics in the area of Drug Discovery and Development. The programme offers a high level of flexibility and can be tailored to your scientific interests. The major research project is hosted by the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) with it’s state-of-the-art research facilities.
Please note that this specialisation will be offered as of September 2025 and is a fusion of three previous specialisations: Drug Discovery and Safety, BioTherapeutics, and System Biomedicine and Pharmacology.
What does this master's programme entail?
The Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences specialisation offers research-oriented education into the discovery of new drugs and development of state-of-the-art therapies. Research topics within the LACDR are clustered in four research divisions and one research centre:
- BioTherapeutics: Our research is aimed at a smoother and speedier transition from preclinical research to pharmacological interventions, and the delivery of drugs in the human body by use of small molecules and biologics.
- Cell Systems and Drug Safety: The research within this Division is focused on novel therapeutic modalities and novel concepts in early drug discovery, in order to develop more effective and safer therapeutic strategies.
- Medicinal Chemistry: The mission in this division is to design and synthesize novel and better ligands for drug targets using a combination of chemical, biochemical and computational methods.
- Systems Pharmacology and Pharmacy: This Division aims to develop precision medicine approaches to characterize and predict variation in treatment response and enhance translational drug development strategies.
- Metabolomics and Analytics Centre: The ambition of this Centre is to develop innovative analytical strategies for metabolomics-driven health monitoring and systems biology studies.
Read more about the Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences programme.
Discover why our students choose the Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences master's programme
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- The master's specialisation Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences is hosted by the research groups of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR). You can chose from a wide variety of research themes ranging from Analytical BioSciences, Biopharmaceutics, Drug Delivery Technology, Medicinal Chemistry to Pharmacology, and Toxicology.
- The strength of the programme is the research-oriented approach and the tailored programme designed for each student individually.
- You study in an internationally, top-ranked research institute.
Find more reasons to choose Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University.
Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences: the right master’s programme for you?
If you are interested in research training in state-of the-art drug discovery and development with a wide range of therapeutic applications, this master’s programme is the right choice.
Read more about the entry requirements for Research in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences.