Rational Drug Design

Course Description:

In this course, you will have the opportunity to learn about the process of developing new pharmaceutical products. For this purpose, you will be given a step-by-step approach to developing new medicine, starting from understanding the molecular basis behind the disease and building up to producing the product. You might be tempted to think that the process is easy -yet, it is the complete opposite: It normally takes 8-10 years to place your novel drug in the marketplace, not only due to the strict government regulations but also due to the complexity of the process. Nevertheless, this course will break down the topic into digestible pieces giving you an overview. I will not only talk about the biology of medicine -we will be taking chemistry as our focus as well. 

There are many traditional ways of developing new drugs, but in this course, you will specifically learn about the most innovative approach: Rational Drug Design.

This course is going to last for 5 weeks. The first 4 weeks will be instructional, and the final week will be on a case study/presentation/examination -to be decided with you. Some courses will be online, and some will be face-to-face. Depending on the number of applicants, the place in the school is going to be announced.

Who should join?

Anyone interested in pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical /bioinformatics/biotechnology/biochemistry industries.

Although it is not a requirement, a solid foundation in chemistry will be helpful for understanding the course in depth.

Course Program:

1. Week: Understanding the molecular basis behind the disease (likely online)

2. Week: Eliciting the target protein structure (likely online)

3. Week: Undertaking combinatorial chemistry (face-to-face)

4. Week: Applying knowledge of excipient ingredients (likely online)

5. Week: Presentation / case study / examination