Course content

The course will start with an introductory review of world health statistics and of the major causes of death, disablement and of working life years lost. It will continue with a discussion of past approaches to drug discovery and future possibilities.

The course will then divide into two parts. The first part will consist of physicochemical aspects of drug design, including drug-receptor interactions, signal transduction and second messengers, pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism, and physicochemical properties relevant to drug design. The second part will be concerned with application of drugs to the major therapeutic areas, including anti-infective agents (anti-bacterials, anti-virals, anti-parasitics etc.), anti-cancer agents, cardiovascular agents and drugs that act on the central nervous system.

Learning outcome

The perspective will be broadly chemical and (where possible) mechanistic with brief biological descriptions as required for an understanding of specific cases of drug design and mechanisms of action. Students will be exposed to a very wide range of novel (and complex) molecular structures but will not be expected to memorise structural details; however, a knowledge of structural types (e.g. beta lactams, nucleoside analogues etc.) will be expected by the end of the course.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures are given concentrated during two weeks. The timetable for the lectures will be agreed with the students. Lectures are given in English. For extraordinary or re-sit examinations, written examination may be changed to oral examination.

Recommended previous knowledge

Basic organic chemistry.

Course materials

Major source books: Medicinal Chemistry Principles and Practice 2nd edition ed. F.D. King, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2002 (ISBN 0-85404-631-3). Wilson and Gisvold's Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, 11th Edition, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, ed. J. Block, J. Beale and C.O. Wilson, 2003 (ISBN 9780781734813). The Practice of Medicinal Chemistry, 3nd. Edition ed. C.G. Wermuth, Academic Press, 2008 (ISBN 9780123741943).

In addition, extensive use will be made of the recent scientific and medical primary literature.

Credit reductions