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The Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) is a national-level entrance examination for those who wish to pursue MPharm programs from leading pharmacy colleges in the country. Conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) through CBT mode, it consists of 125 multiple-choice questions that have to be solved within 3 hours. The minimum criterion for the exam is a bachelor’s in pharmacy. When it comes to the GPAT syllabus, the content varies based on the course you choose. So, in this blog, we have collated the topics of pharmaceutics subjects which form an essential component of the GPAT syllabus, exam pattern, GPAT books and more!
| Name of the Exam | Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test |
| Conducting Body | National Testing Agency |
| Purpose | M. Pharma programmes |
| Application Form | Online |
| Exam Mode | Online |
| Exam Duration | 3 hours |
| Exam Date | 22nd to 27th February 2021 |
| Exam Timings | 9 am to 12 pm or 3 pm to 6 pm |
| Last Date to Challenge GPAT Answer Key | 9th to 11th March 2021 |
| Exam Result | 19th March 2021 |
| Score Card Validity | 3 years |
| Number of Questions | 125 |
| Type Of Questions | MCQs |
Must Read: Find out all the details about NIPER-JEE 2021!
[powerkit_toc title=”This Blog Includes:”]GPAT Exam Pattern
| Exam Mode | Online |
| Purpose | Admissions to M.Pharma programmes |
| Frequency | Once |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Total Questions | 125 |
| Total Marks | 500 |
| Correct Answer | 4 marks |
| Negative Marking | -1 |
GPAT is an online- computer-based exam conducted every year for admissions to various pharmacy courses across India. The GPAT syllabus and exam contain objective questions from a wide range of topics. Let’s look at the GPAT exam pattern in detail for the year 2021-
Section-Wise GPAT Exam Pattern
| Sections | Questions | Marks |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 38 | 152 |
| Pharmaceutics | 38 | 152 |
| Pharmacognosy | 10 | 40 |
| Pharmacology | 28 | 112 |
| Other Subjects | 11 | 44 |
| Total | 125 | 500 |
GPAT Syllabus 2023
| Subjects | Topics |
| Pharmacology | General Pharmacology, Pharmacology of the central nervous system, Pharmacology of the cardiovascular system, Pharmacology of the peripheral nervous system, Pharmacology of the Endocrine system, Neurohumoral transmission in the autonomic and central nervous system, Drugs acting on the Respiratory system, Drugs acting on the urinary system, Chemotherapy, Chronopharmacology, Pharmacology of drug acting on the gastrointestinal tract, Autacoids and their Antagonists, Immunopharmacology, Principles of toxicology, Vitamins & Minerals. |
| Pharmaceutics | Pharmacy Profession & Introduction to Pharmaceuticals, Allopathic dosage form, Introduction to dosage form, Sources of drug information, Crude extract, Dosage Form Necessities and Additives, Allergenic extract, Pharmaceutical Plant, location, layout, Biological products, Parenterals – product requiring sterile packaging, Capsules, Powders, Tablets, Suspensions, Suppositories, Emulsions, Semisolids, Pilot plant scale-up techniques, Pharmaceutical Aerosols, GMP and Validation, Ophthalmic preparations, Preformulations, Prolonged Action Pharmaceuticals, Novel Drug delivery system, Stability of formulated products, Packaging Materials, Cosmetics. |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry | Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Impurities, Isotopes, Monographs, Dentifrices, desensitizing agents, & anticaries agent medicinal Chemistry, Therapeutic classes of drugs, Different classes of therapeutic drugs, various classes of therapeutic agents, Different classes of therapeutic drugs |
| Pharmacognosy | Introductory Pharmacognosy, Classification of crude drugs, Factors influencing the quality of crude drugs, Techniques in microscopy, Introduction to phytoconstituents, Principles of plant classification, Pharmaceutical aids, Animal products, Plant products, Toxic drugs, Enzymes, Natural pesticides and insecticides, Glycosides, Herbal formulations, Alkaloids, Extraction and Isolation Techniques, Traditional herbal drugs, Phytopharmaceuticals, Quality control and Standardization of herbal drugs, Plants based industries and research institutes in India, Herbal cosmetics, Worldwide trade of crude drugs and volatile oils, Patents, Homeopathic system of medicine, Ayurvedic system of medicine. |
| Pharmacology | General Pharmacology, Neurohumoral transmission in the autonomic and central nervous system, Pharmacology of the peripheral nervous system, Pharmacology of the central nervous system, Pharmacology of the cardiovascular system, Drugs acting on the urinary system, Drugs acting on the Respiratory system, Autacoids and their Antagonists, Chronopharmacology, Vitamins & Minerals. |
| Organic Chemistry | General principles, Different classes of compounds, Aromaticity & chemistry of aromatic compounds, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Carbonyl Chemistry, Heterocyclic Chemistry, Bridged rings, Stereochemistry, Carbohydrates, Amino acids & proteins, Pericyclic reactions |
| Biotechnology | Plant Cell and Tissue Culture, Animal Cell Culture, Fermentation Technology and Industrial Microbiology, Recombinant DNA Technology, Process and Applications, and Biotechnology-Derived Products. |
| Microbiology | Introduction to Microbiology, Biology of Microorganisms, Aseptic Technique, Sterilization & Disinfection, Vaccines & Sera, Microbial Assay, Microbial spoilage, Fungi and Viruses, Microscopy and staining technique. |
| Bio-Chemistry | Cell, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Biological oxidations & reductions, Nucleic acids, Hereditary diseases, Enzymes, Lipids. |
| Pharmaceutical Analysis | Importance of quality control in pharmacy, Acid-base titrations, Non-aqueous titrations, Oxidation-reduction titrations, Complexometric titrations, Precipitation titrations, Extraction techniques, Potentiometry, Calibration, General principles of spectroscopy, Ultraviolet-visible Spectrometry, Flame photometry & atomic absorption spectrometry. |
| Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics | General Principles, preparation, maintenance, analysis of observational records in clinical Pharmacy, ethical and regulatory issues including Good clinical practice in clinical trials, Therapeutic drug monitoring, adverse drug reaction (ADR), types of ADR, Mechanism of ADR, Drug information services, Drug interactions, Drug interaction in pediatric and geriatric patients, drug treatment during pregnancy, lactation and menstruation, Pharmacovigilance, essential drugs and rational drug usage. |
| Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics | Bio-pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutical statistics, Bio-availability & Bio-equivalence. |
| Pharmaceutical Management | Introduction to management, Organization, Communication, Inventory Management, Marketing Research, Human resource and development (HRD), GATT, Standard institutions and regulatory authorities, World trade organization (WTO) and trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS), Leadership and motivation. |
| Dispensing and Hospital Pharmacy | Study of current patent and proprietary products, generic products and selected brand products, indications, contraindications, Antiamoebic drugs, Antihistaminic drugs, Antiemetic drugs, Antacids and ulcer healing drugs., Respiratory drugs, Antibiotics, Analgesics and antipyretic drugs, Compounding and dispensing of prescriptions, and Reading and counselling of prescriptions from the clinical practice. |
| Anatomy | Cell physiology, Gastrointestinal tract, Autonomic nervous system, Skeletal System, Urinary System, Reproductive System, Cardiovascular system, Lymphatic system, Sense organs, and Central Nervous system. |
| Pharmaceutical Engineering | Fluid flow, Distillation, Heat transfer, Size reduction and size separation, Filtration and Centrifugation, Crystallization, Dehumidification and humidity control, automated process control systems, Refrigeration and air conditioning, Industrial hazards & safety precautions. |
| Physical Chemistry | Composition & physical states of matter, Refractive index, Colligative Properties, Thermodynamics, Ionic equilibrium, Kinetics, Solutions, Electrochemistry |
| Physical Pharmacy | Buffer, Solubility, Matter and its Properties, Viscosity and Rheology, Surface and Interfacial Phenomenon, Dispersion Systems, Complexation, Micromeritics and Powder Rheology |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry | Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry, Dentifrices, desensitizing agents, & anticaries agents, Pharmaceutical Impurities, Isotopes, Monographs, Medicinal Chemistry, Various classes of therapeutic agents, Different classes of therapeutic drugs |
| Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence | Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and Rules thereunder, Factory Act, Shops and Establishment Act, Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights and Indian Patent Act 1970, Industrial Development and Regulation act 1951, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954, Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act 1955, Rules 1976, Drug legislation in India, Code of Ethics for Pharmacists, The Pharmacy Act of 1948, Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, Rules 1945, including New Drug applications, Consumer Protection Act, Indian Pharmaceutical Industry- An Overview, Medical, Termination of Pregnancy Act 1970 and Rules 1975, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960, Drug (Price Control) Order, An Introduction to Standard Institutions and Regulatory Authorities such as BIS, ASTM, ISO, TGA, USFDA, MHRA, ICH, WHO, Minimum Wages Act of 1948, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 |
| Pathophysiology | Basic principles of cell injury and adaptation, Neoplastic diseases, Pathophysiology of common diseases, Laboratory tests for Liver function tests and kidney function tests, Disorders of homeostasis: white blood cells, lymphoid tissues, and red blood cells related diseases, Immunopathology including amyloidosis, Infectious diseases, Basic mechanisms of inflammation and repair, Disorders of fluid, electrolyte and acid-base balance |
Note: The GPAT syllabus of some of the major course have been added here. You can download the entire curriculum PDF from here:
GPAT 2023 Important Dates
The tentative GPAT 2023 Exam Dates are listed in the table below:
| Events | Dates (Tentative) |
| Online registration starts from | 4th week of December 2023 |
| Last date of form submission | Last week of January 2023 |
| Correction facility | 1st week of February 2023 |
| Release of admit card | 3rd week of February 2023 |
| Entrance exam date | Last week of February 2023 |
| Answer key publish | 3rd week of March 2023 |
| Result declaration date | 4th week of March 2023 |
GPAT Books
GPAT syllabus is huge; it covers various topics from Pharmaceutical Sciences to Medicinal Chemistry to Physical Chemistry. That is why we have listed below a huge list of books that cover the entire GPAT syllabus for those who wish to crack the exam.
Essential GPAT books
- The Pearson Guide to GPAT and Other Entrance Examination in Pharmacy by Akaberi Shah Baser
- GPAT: A Companion by Nazma N. Inamdar
- Chemicol: Concepts in Pharmacy – Most Relevant book for GPAT and NIPER by Deepanmol Singh
- Comprehensive Solution for GPAT/ NIPER by Mr Krishan Bhardwaj, Dr Avijit Mazumder, Dr Sameer Rastogi, Dr Praveen Gaur, Mrs Nidhi Srivastava
- Compete Pharma (A Guide For Preparation Of GPAT/NIPER/BITS/CEEB/CET And Other Pharma Competitive Exams) by Tarun Kumar Das
- GPAT Cracker by Dr Sanjar Alam and others
- Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Sciences, By Nita K. Pandit.
- Aulton’s Pharmaceutics: The Design and Manufacture of Medicines
- Essentials of Physical Chemistry, B.S.Bahl, G.D.Tuli, S. Chand
- The Pearson Guide to GPAT by Umang Shah
Subject-wise recommended GPAT books
Medicinal Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry by Morrison & Boyd
- Organic Chemistry by I.L. Finar, Vol- I and Vol-II.
- Wilson and Giswolds Text Book of Organic, Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Pharmacology
- Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, Bertram G. Katzung, Susan B Masters, Anthony J Trevor
- Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics by Goodman and Gillman
- Essentials of Medical Pharmacology by K D Tripathi
- Pharmacology by Rang and Dale
Pharmaceutical Analysis
- Indian Pharmacopoeia all editions and volumes
- Instrumental Methods of Chemical Analysis (Analytical Chemistry) By. Dr B.K. Sharma
- Modern Technology of Pharmaceutical Analysis by Nirav Son
Pharmacognosy
- Pharmacognosy by C K Kokate
- Textbook of Pharmacognosy, Thomas Edward Wallis, J & A Churchill
- Textbook of Pharmacognosy- Noel M Ferguson
- Pharmacology for Medical Graduates by Tara Shanbhag and Smita Shenoy
GPAT Question Papers
NTA is responsible for conducting the GPAT exam every year in India. To help candidates with the GPAT syllabus, the conducting body releases a set of question papers along with an answer key on their official website for candidates to familiarise themselves with the exam pattern and allow students to focus on the main sections of the GPAT syllabus. Click here to get to the GPAT 2021 official website!
Also Check Out: List of NTA Exams 2021: Schedule, Syllabus & More
FAQs
Yes, there is a negative marking in GPAT. For every incorrect answer, one mark is deducted.
Yes, 3rd-year Pharmacy students can apply for the GPAT exam 2022.
GPAT is considered one of the most essential exams for a Master’s in Pharmacy. It is highly competitive and the GPAT question paper difficulty level for 2021 was moderate.
Aspirants can refer to the list of books given above and use them as references for the GPAT 2022 exam. Aspirants can access previous question papers along with the answer key to prepare well.
GPAT syllabus includes various topics such as Pharmaceutical Sciences, Physical Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology, Medicinal Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Management.
Also, Read A Guide on How to Pursue Master’s in Pharmacy in Canada!
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