Drug Discovery (P01562)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : BIO-P-DRGDIS

This course gives the student a general, illustrated overview over the different stages in drug design from the industrial perspective. The considerations and practicalities of selecting, initiating and running a drug discovery programme will be covered as well as the key topic of finding a lead compound that exhibits the desired biological activity with the highest possible benefits. This course is clearly distinct from the structure-based drug design core module where the topic of rational drug design is covered in detail.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Entry to the course will be for students already holding (or expecting to hold) an Honours degree or equivalent in a biological subject such as biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, pharmacology. Students with a background in chemistry, physics, computer science or informatics will also be considered and those with other scientific or medical backgrounds should contact the Course Director.

? Costs : None

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Postgraduate, (School of Biological Sciences, Schedule K)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Wednesday	10:00	13:00	KB

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Appreciation of various aspects in the drug discovery process, including industrial considerations and the drug testing process.
- Principles of drug action, general topics in medicinal chemistry
- Industrial considerations for picking a drug area (Existing therapies, commercial aspects, etc)
- Lead compounds
Gene profiling
Natural products
Synthetic products
Screening methods: Assays, Microarrays
Libraries, combinatorial chemistry
Rational design (structure-based drug design, etc)
- Assessing lead compounds
Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicology (ADME/tox)
In vitro and in vivo testing
- Drug delivery
- Clinical trials
- Production and marketing
Drug synthesis
Marketing, social, moral aspects
Patents