Scientists, engineers, and technicians conduct research to develop new drugs. Others work to streamline production methods and improve environmental and quality control. Life scientists are among the largest scientific occupations in this industry. Most of these scientists are biological and medical scientists who produce new drugs using biotechnology to recombine the genetic material of animals or plants. Biological scientists normally specialize in a particular area. Biologists and bacteriologists study the effect of chemical agents on infected animals. Biochemists study the action of drugs on body processes by analyzing the chemical combination and reactions involved in metabolism, reproduction, and heredity. Microbiologists grow strains of microorganisms that produce antibiotics. Physiologists investigate the effect of drugs on body functions and vital processes. Pharmacologists and zoologists study the effects of drugs on animals. Virologists grow viruses, and develop vaccines and test them in animals. Botanists, with their special knowledge of plant life, contribute to the discovery of botanical ingredients for drugs. Other biological scientists include pathologists, who study normal and abnormal cells or tissues, and toxicologists, who are concerned with safety, dosage levels, and the compatibility of different drugs. medical scientists, who also may be physicians, conduct clinical research, test products, and oversee human clinical trials.

Physical scientists, particularly chemists, also are important in the research and development of new drugs. Organic chemists combine new compounds for biological testing. Physical chemists separate and identify substances, determine molecular structure, help create new compounds, and improve manufacturing processes. Radiochemists trace the course of drugs through body organs and tissues. Pharmaceutical chemists set standards and specifications for the form of products and for storage conditions; they also see that drug labeling and literature meet the requirements of State and Federal laws. Analytical chemists test raw and intermediate materials and finished products for quality.

Science technicians, such as biological and chemical technicians, play an important part in research on and development of new medicines. They set up, operate, and maintain laboratory equipment, monitor experiments, analyze data, and record and interpret results. science technicians usually work under the supervision of scientists or engineers.

Although engineers account for a small fraction of scientific and technical workers, they make significant contributions toward improving quality control and production efficiency. Chemical engineers design equipment and devise manufacturing processes. Bioprocess engineers, who are similar to chemical engineers, design fermentation vats and various bioreactors for microorganisms that will produce a given product. Industrial engineers plan equipment layout and workflow to maintain efficient use of plant facilities.
 

At the top of the managerial group are executives who make policy decisions concerning matters of finance, marketing, and research. Other managerial workers include natural sciences managers and industrial production managers.

Office and administrative support employees include secretaries and administrative assistants, general office clerks, and others who keep records on personnel, payroll, raw materials, sales, and shipments.

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, describe their company's products to physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and health services administrators. These sales representatives serve as lines of communication between their companies and clients.

Most plant workers fall into 1 of 2 occupational groups: Production workers who operate drug-producing equipment, inspect products, and install, maintain, and repair production equipment; and transportation and material-moving workers who package and transport the drugs.

Workers among the larger of the production occupations, assemblers and fabricators, perform all of the assembly tasks assigned to their teams, rotating through the different tasks rather than specializing in a single task. They also may decide how the work is to be assigned and how different tasks are to be performed.

Other production workers specialize in one part of the production process. Chemical processing machine setters, operators, and tenders, such as pharmaceutical operators, control machines that produce tablets, capsules, ointments, and medical solutions. Included are mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders, who tend milling and grinding machines that reduce mixtures to particles of designated sizes. Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders tend tanks and kettles in which solutions are mixed and compounded to make up creams, ointments, liquid medications, and powders. Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers operate machines that compress ingredients into tablets. Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders, often called capsule coaters, control a battery of machines that apply coatings that flavor, color, preserve, or add medication to tablets, or control disintegration time. Throughout the production process, inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers ensure consistency and quality. For example, ampoule examiners inspect ampoules for discoloration, foreign particles, and flaws in the glass. Tablet testers inspect tablets for hardness, chipping, and weight to assure conformity with specifications.

After the drug is prepared and inspected, it is bottled or otherwise packaged by packaging and filling machine operators and tenders. Semiskilled workers do most of the packaging and bottle-filling with machines that measure exact amounts of the product and seal containers.

Plant workers who do not operate or maintain equipment perform a variety of other tasks. Some drive industrial trucks or tractors to move materials around the plant, load and unload trucks and railroad cars, or package products and materials by hand.