Course overview
The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the domestic and international pharmaceutical industry sectors and to develop the skills in assessing the factors that will influence the future success or failure of a pharmaceutical company. Information retrieval and communication within the pharmaceutical industry; drugs, medicines, formulations - what are they and how are they used for improving health? Advantages and disadvantage of drug use for improving health outcomes; history of the pharmaceutical industry; overview of the Australian pharmaceutical industry; multinational pharmaceutical industry; public and private support for drug development, and investments in drug development; the drug development pipeline; the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry; structure and function of regulatory bodies (TGA, FDA, etc); scheduling, distribution and sale of therapeutic goods including complementary medicines; how companies are created, and the drivers for success and failure; management and corporate structure in the pharmaceutical industry; contract research organisations and their role in the industry
Introduction to pharmacoeconomics; the cost of drug development; improving drug delivery through design of novel technologies; human and animal ethics issues in drug development; case studies in pharmaceutical industry - success stories and failures.
Course learning outcomes
- Have developed basic information retrieval skills
- Be aware of different ways of communicating information within the pharmaceutical industry and will begin to develop appropriate communication skills
- Have an understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and the interactions between industry and society that influence the viability of the industry in its broadest context
- Have the ability to give an overview of a pharmaceutical company and the factors that have shaped and will shape its development, growth and prosperity
- Be able to provide an overview of the challenges facing a typical pharmaceutical company in terms of factors such as patient and customer needs, corporate needs, regulatory responsibility, and financial risk
- Be able to identify simple strategies that a pharmaceutical company may implement to maximise future prosperity