The main objective of the course is to provide Students with:
i) basic information related to the concept of drugs and their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, ii) an overview of the drug discovery process and its main phases, iii) basic knowledge related to the main drug classes, with emphasis on their mechanism of action and therapeutical use.
By the end of the course, Students have to: i) know and understand the fundamental principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics that underlie the biological activity of drugs, ii) know the main phases of the drug discovery process, iii) be able to present synthetically and effectively the key characteristics of the drug classes discussed during the Course.
Course Prerequisites
Students should have basic knowledge of general and inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and anatomy.
Teaching Methods
Lectures (frontal lessons with PowerPoint presentations that will be available for students on Kiro UniPV multimedia platform) will be given to the class. Lectures will be accompanied by classroom practices focused on scientific paper reading and discussion. The students will be required to work in small groups and to present their activities in the classroom for the discussion (activity performed according to health regulations).
For understanding if instructional objectives will be coherent with student learning, active learning, cooperation among students and student-faculty contact will be encouraged. In this way a prompt feedback will be obtained. Moreover, different talents and ways of learning will be respected.
Assessment Methods
Student performance is assessed in the final examination. It will consist of an oral exam focused on the main topics covered during the course. Students have to demonstrate to:
i) possess a good knowledge of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic aspects of drug action, ii) know and have understood the main phases of the drug discovery process, iii) be able to present synthetically and effectively the key characteristics of the drug classes discussed during the Course, with emphasis on their mechanism of action and therapeutical use.
Test evaluation will be performed by the 0-30 scale.
Texts
Study texts furnished by the teacher are available on Kiro platform (https://elearning.unipv.it/).
Contents
General concepts: what is a drug, pharmacokinetic (ADME) and pharmacodynamic aspects of drug action. The drug discovery and development process: from the identification of novel drug targets to the introduction of new drugs into clinical practice. The course will focus on the approaches used for identifying hit compounds and for the lead compound generation and optimization. Examples of drugs representing different classes: considerations on the mechanism of action and therapeutical use
