XX50225: Techniques for drug discovery
[Page last updated: 03 August 2022]
| Academic Year: | 2022/23 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology |
| Credits: | 18 [equivalent to 36 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 360 |
| Level: | Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CW 50%, EX 50% |
| Assessment Detail: |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | |
| Learning Outcomes: | After studying this unit, students should be able to:
* Distinguish the different phases of drug development and discuss the strategic, scientific and operational issues to be considered prior to launching a drug discovery programme * Compare the different techniques (molecular, cellular, in vivo and clinical) used in the identification and validation of a drug target * Compare different methodologies and techniques used to develop small-molecule drugs and therapeutic peptides * Critically discuss the drug discovery approaches used in a range of therapeutic areas and organisations, including examples of drug discovery in these areas * Justify the importance of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in drug development and successful drug therapy * Describe the process by which drugs are assessed for market by regulatory bodies * Describe different biological models used in preclinical drug development and the techniques associated with the identification and optimisation of therapeutic proteins * Search, evaluate and use the published scientific literature to inform and justify their understanding of drug discovery practices * Present scientific information in a variety of formats * Develop and work inclusively in a multidisciplinary team * Critically interpret chemical and biological drug discovery data and design new hit-to-lead compounds to answer a scientific question. |
| Aims: | To provide an overview of the process of drug discovery and development, providing core knowledge of the techniques and considerations involved in the identification and validation of a drug target, the discovery and optimisation of small molecule drugs and biological therapeutics, drug delivery technology and the translation of a drug into a medicine. |
| Skills: | Numeracy (F,A), Problem solving (T, F, A), Scientific writing (F, A), Independent working (F), Group working (F, A), Oral communication (F, A) |
| Content: | * Historical overview of the approaches to drug discovery (natural products, synthetic chemistry, recombinant protein, recombinant antibodies, nonpharmacological therapeutics) * Strategic, scientific and operational issues to be considered prior to launching a drug discovery programme * Target identification and validation (transcriptomics and disease models) * Oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide therapeutics * Biophysical and structural techniques (eg NMR, X-ray crystallography)) * Small molecule identification (eg High-throughput screening and fragment-based drug discovery) * Peptides and peptidomimetics * Soft drugs * Evidence base for existing therapeutics * Pre-clinical models (eg biochemical, cellular, tissue, in vivo) * Overview of a range of therapeutic areas and examples of drug discovery in these areas * Pre-clinical drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (DMPK) * Pre-clinical safety and toxicology * Regulatory affairs * Biopharmaceuticals (including antibody-based therapeutics) * Evidence base for novel therapeutic targets * Virtual drug discovery exercise. |
| Programme availability: |
XX50225 is Compulsory on the following programmes:Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology
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Notes:
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