The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) is the first national level institute in pharmaceutical sciences with the objective of becoming a centre of excellence for advanced studies and research in pharmaceutical sciences. It is an autonomous body set up under the aegis of the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers, Government of India. The institute also provides leadership in pharmaceutical sciences and related areas to countries in southeast Asia, south Asia and Africa. NIPER is a member of Association of Indian Universities and Association of Commonwealth Universities.

The courses you can choose from at the institute are the MPharm, the MS Pharm, the MTech Pharm and the MBA Pharm. The institute also offers a PhD programme. Located on an area of 130 acres, it provides residential facilities to all the students and teaching staff.

The admission notification is published in March in major newspapers and Employment News. The information brochure -cum-application form can be obtained in person or by post from the office of the registrar on submission of a bank draft for Rs 1,000. Form A is to be filed by candidates applying to the MS Pharm, M Pharm and M Tech Pharm programmes while Form B is to be filled by those applying to the MBA Pharm programme only. Completed application forms should be sent to the Registrar, NIPER at Sector 67, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab-160 062 before the end of April. For more information, you can contact the office of the institute at the above mentioned address or log on to www.niper.nic.in.

Eligibility

For admission to MPharm, the candidates should have completed their BPharm degree. For applying to the MS Pharm programme, you should have completed your BPharm or MS in organic chemistry or life sciences. For MBA Pharm, you should have completed your BPharm or BTech (Chemical Engineering or equivalent) or MSc (chemical or life sciences).

You should also have passed the qualifying degree with a minimum of 60 per cent marks in aggregate or CGPA of 6.75 on a 10 point scale. Passing of GATE/NET is essential for all programmes, including the MBA.

Entrance exam

There is common entrance test in June for all the masters programmes including MBA Pharm. The test is conducted in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Calcutta, Nagpur and Pune.

Pattern of exam

The two-hour-long test consists of 200 objective-type questions. The level of questions is of the BPharm or MSc course. It assesses your knowledge in life sciences, organic chemistry, biotechnology and general intelligence. Twenty-five per cent marks are deducted for each wrong answer.

How to prepare

Some of the books you can prepare from are: Wilson and Giswold?s Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Burger?s Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery, books by Ed Manfred and E. Wolff, John Wiley Sons, Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry by C. Hansch, Comprehensive Biotechnology by Murray Moo-Young, and the National Centre for Biotechnology Information publications. You can log on to their website: www./ncbi.nlm.nih.gov to receive more information on this.

sample test paper

Which of the following cannot be refilled under any circumstances?
a. Metoprolol
b. Methylphenidate
c. Mitomycin
d. Hydroxyurea.

If a patient was taking Glyburide for type II diabetes and a physician prescribed Chlorpropamide, the pharmacy technician will :
a. Fill the prescription.
b. Notify the pharmacist about duplication of therapy.
c. Notify the pharmacist about any interaction.
d. All of the above.

All of the following drugs should be carefully prescribed with aspirin except:
a. Enoxaprine
b. Coumadin
c. Heparin
d. Metoclopropamide

Explain how the DNA micro-array technique can be used to study cellular response to its environment.