SMIMM1131U Drug Discovery
Master's Programme in Industrial Drug Development -
compulsory
Compulsory for Master of Industrial Drug Development (MIND)
students, elective for other part-time master's students at the
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (subject to study board
approval) and open for freelance students who meet the admission
criteria.
The course is intended for drug discovery and development
professionals who would like to advance their knowledge in modern
technologies and approaches used in target
identification/validation, drug discovery and lead
optimisation.
The following topics will be covered in lectures during the course:
- Target classes: receptors, channels, transporters and enzymes
- Target identification and evaluation
- Target validation using genetic technologies
- Drug discovery aspects related to drug deveopment aspects
- Drug design aspects related to biopharmaceuticals and small molecules
- Translational aspects ranging from a molecular target to whole animals
- Case stories
Target prioritization, bioinformatics and literature search will be covered in workshops.
The overall objective of the course is to provide the student
with a general comprehension of the elements involved in modern
drug discovery. Today, almost all drug discovery programs are
directed towards design of either biopharmaceuticals or small
molecules acting selectively at specific targets. As an initial
step, the target involved in a given disease has to be identified
and validated, which will subsequently lead to design of ligands
acting selectively in a desired fashion at the target. During this
lead optimization process a growing number of considerations,
besides the action at the disease target, have to be taken into
consideration such as ADME, toxicology and production issues.
Finally, the lead candidates have to show efficacy in relevant
animal disease models before the final candidate can enter
pre-clinical studies. In the current course we will focus on the
target identification and validation as well as drug discovery and
lead optimization processes.
Upon completion of the course, participants are expected to be able
to:
Knowledge
- Demonstrate comprehension of target identification and validation methods and processes
- Demonstrate insight into lead optimization methods and processes
Skills
- Apply basic computational methods in the area of bioinformatics
- Ability to select important parameters for lead optimization and lead candidate progression
- Orally present a subject in the drug discovery area (however, this is not part of the assessment)
Competencies
- Conduct a valid scientific literature study in the area of drug discovery
- Write a scientifically based report on drug discovery aspects using scientific literature
A basic knowledge of gene transcription & translation and the drug discovery process is required, which can be obtained by reading chapter 1 from "Analysis of Genes and Genomes" by Richard J. Reece (Wiley, ISBN 0470777826) and chapter 4 from “Drug Discovery and Development" by Humphrey P. Rang (Churchill Livingstone, ISBN 0443064202), respectively. In addition chapter 5 and 6 of the latter book is required reading for the workshop on the first day. Additional chapters of both books cover many of the subjects of the course and are thus recommended reading (a list of recommended reading will be provided before the course). The examination report will be based on a literature search performed by the participants and there is therefore no common syllabus for the course. Selected reviews will be provided by the organizers prior to the course as an introduction to the examination topic.
• A relevant bachelor degree or equivalent
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant job experience
• Proficiency in English
- Category
- Hours
- Exam
- 20
- Lectures
- 20
- Preparation
- 22
- Theory exercises
- 20
- Total
- 82
Application deadline is 8 weeks before the first day of
instruction of the course.
Apply
here
- Credit
- 3 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentThe individual written assignment is based on a case story. The assignment must be based on original peer-reviewed scientific articles found by literature search performed by the participants and there is therefore no common syllabus for the course. The participants will be introduced to literature searches during the course and the examination assignment is typically based on 20-40 articles.
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
Deadline for submission of written report to be announced on the MIND homepage
- Re-exam
To be announced on the MIND homepage
Criteria for exam assesment
To achieve the grade 12 the student should be able to:
Knowledge:
- Demonstrate comprehension of target identification and validation methods and processes
- Demonstrate insight into lead optimization methods and processes
Skills
- Apply basic computational methods in the area of bioinformatics and literature serach
- Ability to select important parameters for lead optimization and lead candidate progression
Competencies
- Conduct a valid scientific literature study in the area of drug discovery
- Write a scientifically based report on drug discovery aspects using scientific literature
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- SMIMM1131U
- Credit
- 3 ECTS
- Level
- Part Time Master
- Duration
- 5 days
- Placement
- Spring
.
- Schedule
- Course not offered in academic year 2018/19. Expected to be offered in Spring 2020
- Course capacity
- 25 participants
- Continuing and further education
- Price
EU/EEA citizens: DKK 12,900. (non-EU/EEA citizens please see MIND-page. Fee includes course materials and lunch/coffee. Prices may be subject to change. Textbook must be purchased by the participants.
- Study board
- Study Board for the Professionel Master´s Degree Programmes at The Faculty og Health and Medical Science
Contracting department
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Course Coordinators
- Stephan Pless (13-7e7f707b736c79397b77707e7e4b7e80796f397680396f76)
Lecturers
Lecturers will be leading experts from both industry and
academia (the names below are a list of previous lecturers on this
course). Note that lecturers will be selected based on course
composition, attendee numbers and availibility.
Peter Høngaard Andersen, H. Lundbeck
Hans Bräuner-Osborne, University of Copenhagen
Harald S. Hansen, University of Copenhagen
Rasmus P. Clausen, University of Copenhagen
Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Novo Nordisk
Troels Koch, Santaris
Ulrik Svane Sørensen, NeuroSearch
Cord Brakebusch, BRIC/University of Copenhagen
Søren-Peter Olesen, University of Copenhagen
David Gloriam, University of Copenhagen
Klaus Bøgesø, H. Lundbeck
Torben Hansen, University of Copenhagen
Kristian Strømgaard, University of Copenhagen
Niels Plath, H. Lundbeck
Thomas Høeg-Jensen, Novo Nordisk
Stephan Cristgau, Novo Seeds