Course overview
This course will provide students with a fundamental knowledge of drug discovery and development from both a preclinical and clinical perspective. This includes approaches to sourcing and developing new drugs, from natural sources through to rational drug design, as well as approaches to testing drug efficacy and safety in both preclinical phases and in clinical trials. Additional topics in commercialisation provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of drug discovery and development, from bench to bedside.
Course learning outcomes
- Compare and understand common natural sources of drugs and contemporary approaches to drug design and development
- Demonstrate an understanding of the timelines and resources required to discover and develop new drugs in a preclinical setting
- Demonstrate an understanding of the critical features of each stage of the preclinical drug development process
- Demonstrate an understanding of the critical features of each stage of the clinical trials process for new drugs
- Work in small groups to profile a drug's preclinical and clinical discovery and development journey
- Demonstrate an understanding of the environment and drivers of drug discovery and commercialisation of research
- Demonstrate an understanding of population, gender and ethnic differences in drug action and metabolism