Essentials of Drug Discovery and Development

Learn the Drug Discovery and Development Process

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the process of drug discovery and development through online lectures and discussions. Students will gain an understanding of the key stages involved in bringing a new drug to market, from initial target identification through clinical trials, regulatory approval, and commercialization.This course will benefit both students without prior knowledge of pharmaceutical discovery and development, as well as working professionals aiming to further their understanding of their vocation. 
 

Topics

• History and Overview of Drug Discovery & Development and the Biopharmaceutical Industry
• Drug Targets
• ​Assays for Drug Discovery
• Drug Modalities 
• Biology and Pharmacology in Drug Discovery
• Preclinical Development and Safety 
• Clinical Trials and Development 
• Intellectual Property
• Regulatory Affairs, Commerical Launch, and Marketing 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 

• Understand the modern drug discovery and development process
• Understand how drug targets are chosen and evaluated 
• Become familiar with the four major drug modalities: small molecules, biologics, nucleic acids, and cell therapies 
• Understand the clinical trials process and how it is conducted 

Prerequisites

There are no required prerequisites for this course. A bachelor’s degree in the life or physical sciences or more than ten years of biopharmaceutical industry, academic, or clinical experience with a secondary degree will help. 
 

Format

This course is offered in an online asynchronous format. There are no set meeting times, however, students follow a weekly schedule and there will be deadlines to meet in terms of course requirements. This course cannot be completed at an accelerated rate.