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The differences between medicinal chemists and formulation chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a formulation chemist has an average salary of $66,678, which is higher than the $65,248 average annual salary of a medicinal chemist.
The top three skills for a medicinal chemist include NMR, SAR and HPLC. The most important skills for a formulation chemist are scale-up, R, and product development.
| Medicinal Chemist | Formulation Chemist | |
| Yearly salary | $65,248 | $66,678 |
| Hourly rate | $31.37 | $32.06 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 2,662 | 3,011 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A medicinal chemist applies their chemistry training to processing and synthesizing new pharmaceuticals. Their duties include developing new drugs, improving the processes through which pharmaceuticals are made, isolating medicinal agents, creating new synthetic drug compounds, and working with scientists in other disciplines. They are also required to develop products and production processes that are cost effective and environmentally friendly.
A formulation chemist is responsible for generating new concepts for product development that adhere to quality standards and safety regulations. Formulation chemists identify product opportunities by analyzing the current industry trends, developing cost-reduction initiatives, and determining efficient formulations through in-depth research and laboratory experiments. They write formulation reports and product processing, collaborating with the marketing and sales team for brand promotion and awareness. A formulation chemist must have a critical understanding of scientific methods, including chemical mixing, to achieve desired outputs.
Medicinal chemists and formulation chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medicinal Chemist | Formulation Chemist | |
| Average salary | $65,248 | $66,678 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $96,000 | Between $46,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Frederick, MD |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Washington |
| Best paying company | Novartis | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a medicinal chemist and a formulation chemist in terms of educational background:
| Medicinal Chemist | Formulation Chemist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between medicinal chemists' and formulation chemists' demographics:
| Medicinal Chemist | Formulation Chemist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 60.6% Female, 39.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 26.8% White, 52.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.6% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |