The Summer School on Pharmaceutical Analysis (SSPA) addresses the most advanced analytical methodologies involved in the development of new drugs and in drug manufacturing. The ultimate goal of a drug discovery program is to generate a candidate drug compound that, besides being active and selective in vitro on the isolated target, is safe and efficacious in humans. In order to develop such a compound, many criteria including affinity, activity, selectivity, physico-chemical properties, and pharmacokinetics must be optimized. The definition of these criteria involves the availability and knowledge of appropriate analytical methodologies.