Course Description
Course Description:
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of modern drug development such as how the structure, metabolism, route of administration, additives in formulation, etc. play key roles in determining a drug’s activity and efficacy. The course explains how a molecule can be identified as a leading compound (by high throughput screenings or computational modeling) and then optimized to ensure maximum efficacy and minimal side effects. The course is mainly focused on elements of structural biology and the pharmacological aspects of medicinal chemistry. Several classes of drug molecules are explained to ensure that students are exposed to a broad overview about the real world of drug discovery and development procedures. Guest speakers from pharmaceutical companies will speak about current pharmaceutical research and development as well as patents and innovation. Overall the course is designed to make sure that students are familiarized with the idea of drug design and development, and the recent approaches taking place in this field of science. Prerequisites: SC/CHEM 2020 3.00, SC/CHEM 2021 3.00 and either SC/CHEM 2050 4.00 or SC/BIOL/BCHEM 2020 3.00. Course Credit Exclusion: SC/CHEM 3071 3.00.