Victorian College of Pharmacy Research

The Victorian College of Pharmacy at Monash University is internationally renowned as a key research centre in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy. The breadth of discipline areas on site at the Parkville campus include:

Drug Discovery and the attendant molecular biology, receptor pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and lead optimisation programs that underpin the discovery process;

Drug Development including drug delivery, drug formulation and physicochemical and biopharmaceutical (drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) profiling of drug candidates; 

Drug Evaluation reflecting both clinical and pre-clinical evaluation of drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and optimisation of the practice of pharmacy including the quality use of medicines and improved Pharmacy education programs.

These research strengths are augmented by strong links with both local and international Pharmaceutical companies and physical location in the Parkville Biomedical Strip. The recent development of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in pharmaceutical science and medicinal chemistry has further broadened the scope of research at the Faculty.

The Victorian College of Pharmacy has over 90 academic and research staff, 70 Research (honours, masters and PhD) students, and in 2003 attracted over $4.8 million dollars of research funding from industrial and commonwealth sources.

A key element of the drug discovery and development portfolio at the Victorian College of Pharmacy is the Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation (CDCO). The CDCO currently has a portfolio of more than 15 discovery and pre-clinical development projects with national and international pharmaceutical companies and not-for-profit organisations (e.g. World Health Organisation and the Medicines for Malaria Venture) and employs approximately 25 scientists.