Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has over the past Forty years been the only institution in the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir offering graduate-level programme in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Since 2009 it has been offering post-graduate programmes in five different specializations of Pharmaceutical Sciences namely Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacy Practice. During this entire period, department has endeavoured to impart pharmacy education of highest quality to its students. The alumni have been well placed in both private and public sector, within and outside the state. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has so far awarded 150 M. Pharm. and 16 Ph.D. candidates besides training more than 700 B. Pharm. graduates since its inception.
Department has six well equipped laboratories and four class-rooms besides one seminar-cum-library hall. Department also boasts of highly qualified, efficient faculty drawn from various prestigious Pharmacy institutions across the country. A total of 150 students of this department have so far cleared national level examinations like GPAT/ GATE/UGC-NET/CSIR-JRF. Department is actively engaged in research in all the core disciplines of Pharmacy. All faculty members of the department possesses doctoral degrees and are approved research guides supervising Masters’ and Doctoral level students in various disciplines of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Department has published around 500 research papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals in addition to 05 books and many book chapters. Entire faculty of the department has been regularly attending conferences and seminars and presenting their papers. So far they have attended a total of 500 international and national level conferences/ seminars/ workshops etc in which more than 200 papers have been presented. Department has forged academic collaborations and research ties with premier academic, industrial and research institutions like Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi; DIPSAR, New Delhi; SKIMS, Soura, Srinagar; RRIUM, Srinagar; IIIM, Srinagar/Jammu; GMC, Srinagar; Indo Soviet Friendship College, Moga, Punjab; Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., New Delhi; Ind. Swift Laboratories, Chandigarh.
Department envisages to further strengthen the process of fostering industry-academia interaction by way of enhancing research and academic activities through collaborations with reputed national Pharmaceutical concerns. In this direction Medley Chair has been established in the department with financial assistance from M/S Medley Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai for equipping the said laboratory with machinery worth Rs. 25-30 lakhs in addition to some other incentives. Under this agreement Medley Pharmaceuticals has also pledged support for the grant of salary to one Professor in Pharmaceutics who shall hold the chair initially for a period of three years, for award of Gold Medal to B. Pharm. first class first every year and for sponsoring one B. Pharm. pass-out of the department for admission to M. Pharm. in Pharmaceutics/Pharmacology in any University with a guaranteed job in the company after successful completion of the course. Department has received financial assistance from various funding agencies that includes UGC grant of Rs 54.75 lacs at the level of DRS-I for 5 years (2011- 2016) under the Special Assistance Programme (SAP); UGC grant of Rs 35.25 lac under Innovative Programmes for infrastructure development and teaching manpower to support new M. Pharm. programme; UGC grant to the tune of Rs. 20 lacs for strengthening of infrastructure of the department in terms of power supply, water supply, safety equipments, laboratory working tables, DST grant of 1 crore through DST-FIST Scheme, UGC grant of 119 Lacs at the level of DRS-II for 5 years (2018-2023). Besides twelve minor and three major research projects have been awarded to the faculty of the department amounting to a total financial assistance of around Rs 70 lacs.
Department has been according top priority to the placement of its pass-outs and so far a total of 70 students have been employed by various pharmaceutical concerns like M/S Medley Pharmaceuticals, M/S IndSwift Pharmaceutical, M/S Ranbaxy Laboratories etc. through campus recruitment drives organized by the department. Besides, a total of 50 students have been appointed as Drug Inspectors in the Drug and Food Control Organization of J&K and more than 100 students as Pharmacists in the leading healthcare institutions of the state like SKIMS, SKIMS-MC, GMC etc. Department proudly boasts of producing some of the best graduates who are at present occupying senior positions in the state administration like that of Deputy Drug Controllers, Drug Analysts, Assistant Drug Controllers, Chief Pharmacists, Senior Pharmacists, Professors, Associate and Assistant Professors. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences envisages to continue its unflinching march towards excellence through augmentation of its faculty strength, expansion of its existing infrastructure, modernization of its laboratories, industry-academia collaborations, quality research activities, publication of research in high impact journals, providing greater opportunities to its students for their career advancement and seeking more financial assistance through research projects and programmes. Department aims to carve a niche for itself in the national arena of Pharmaceutical Sciences and emerge as an institution of repute and excellence in times to come.