School of Pharmacy introduces Molecules to Market certification

UNC’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy partnered with Deerfield Management to launch a new Molecules to Market certificate program in February 2025.  

According to the pharmacy school's website, the program was designed for anyone interested in learning more about the business aspect of getting pharmaceutical drugs into the marketplace. The program is multidisciplinary, encompassing science, business and strategy.

This certificate is aimed toward making a connection for UNC students between academia and the biotherapeutics industry.  

Mike Jarstfer, assistant dean for graduate education at the pharmacy school, said that it takes many steps to get a molecule — or small drug, such as ibuprofen — to the market.

Because many molecules don’t actually make it to the market, UNC strove to create a certificate program to help students learn new strategies and overcome the difficulties that many scientists have faced.

Jarstfer said that while UNC and Deerfield are doing a lot of good science within their programs, communicating that science as commercial products is another aspect of providing pharmaceutical care. The pharmacy school is the only school that has this specific certification program.

“There aren’t a lot of examples of academic programming where universities have partnered with equity firms in order to develop new educational material,” he said.  

Christine Brideau, vice president of preclinical pharmacology at Deerfield Discovery and Development said she was asked to assist in making the Molecules to Market program.  

“Deerfield and UNC discussed about this particular opportunity to develop a training course about drug discovery and development, and I have been doing this for 30 years or so,” Brideau said.  

Deerfield is an investment management firm that is, as stated on its website, committed to advancing health care through investment, information and philanthropy.  

Brideau said that Deerfield already had a connection with UNC through their management and executive leadership. She said she was already familiar with the University and was happy to get involved.

Emma Giegerich, an epidemiologist at Deerfield who also works with their investment analysts, said she found the process of implementing the program with UNC to be a very positive experience. 

 “I think one of the most valuable things it would have or could have done is kind of opened my eyes to the possibilities career wise, that certain interests or areas could afford you," Giegerich said. "So it's not just investment banking, bench science, academic research; it's showing you how these things maybe come together in ways you hadn't thought about."

The pharmacy school's website states that the course was specifically designed for industry professionals and students who have already completed their undergraduate degrees.

Jarsfter said the sign-up for February 2025 is set to open soon. He said that there isn’t necessarily an application, but the program requires some basic information to ensure the students make the most of their time and money. 

He said that the program will consist of seven courses, with six required for completion. One is a prerequisite and overview of the pharmaceutical product development process. Four are foundational courses, three of which were created by Deerfield. The fourth foundational course, along with two electives, were developed at the pharmacy school.

Jarstfer said that course registration isn’t through UNC’s registrar and the pharmacy school will handle scheduling "in-house."

“The approach we took was, I think, really unique,” Jarsfter said. “And that’s what I think the program is. I think it is going to have a big impact on the training because it was built in a way that was focused on a really important gap in the educational content in the country.”

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