Learning the fundamental concepts of structure-based drug development using rational design and applying them to case studies.
Course Prerequisites
Bachelor-level knowledge of molecular biology and chemistry.
Teaching Methods
Lectures; practice exercises to use antibody databases and structural modeling software (MOE) for antibody design; round tables between teacher and students to further delve into topics addressed in the lectures and into more general themes about working in a biotech company.
Assessment Methods
Mandatory attendance of lectures and interactive activities (no final exam).
Texts
Slides, temporary software license and other material provided by the teacher.
Contents
Introduction to the pharmaceutical development process (from concept to the clinic). Small vs large molecule biotherapeutics, pros and cons and applicability. Antibodies and foundational immunology. Antibody discovery: approaches to generate repertoires (incl. hybridoma, mammalian cell, in vitro and ML-based). In vivo vs in vitro antibody libraries, options and limitations. Antibody rational engineering and optimization: demo of the Abacus suite for sequence/structure based optimization via Machine Learning. Antibody rational engineering and optimization: liabilities and immunogenicity. Structure based rational design: introduction and demo utilizing the MOE suite and intro to BioPhi. One day MOE workshop. Rational design and engineering of affinity and stability. Example studies of rational design in biotherapeutics: antibodies, antibody-like and new approaches. Integrating deep sequencing for antibody engineering. Career options in the pharmaceutical development field, pros and cons and discussion.
Course Language
English
More information
A laptop (Mac or PC, running the latest OS) is required for the MOE workshop day. Please bring a 3-button mouse. Details will be provided on the first day of the course.
