SNEU20006U Drug discovery and development in Neuroscience

Volume 2024/2025
Education

MSc in Neuroscience - elective course

 

Content

In this course, the students will be introduced to drug discovery strategies in neuroscience and be presented with examples of failures and successes. While the unmet need for novel treatment in neurological and psychiatric diseases are evident, innovative drug discovery in neuroscience has not been successful over the last decades. The objective is to introduce to target identification, target validation, and various challenges in small molecule drug discovery and biological drugs. Special focus will be on developing novel drugs able to enter the brain.

Students will participate in lectures, small practical sessions and face to face supervision, and discuss drug discovery strategies. Fundamental knowledge in neuropharmacology will be presented, as well as different stages in drug discovery and development. The various models of brain disorders and their application in drug discovery will be presented. Principles of clinical neuropharmacology will be covered.

Learning Outcome

After completing the course the student is expected to be able to:

Knowledge

Demonstrate knowledge about:

  • Various aspects of drug discovery processes
  • Drug development processes in CNS diseases
  • Drug target, target validation and proof of principle
  • Various drug classes
  • Demonstrate understanding of the major unmet medical needs in neurology and psychiatry
  • Understand the unmet medical need for treatment of CNS disorders
  • Biomarkers

 

Skills

  • Describe drug discovery and development phases
  • Combine knowledge in neuroscience with drug discovery
  • Define and describe biomarkers

 

Competences

  • Provide target validation of novel and known drug targets
  • Independently evaluate novel drug candidates
  • Work independently as well as in teams
  • Systematically and independently be critical to literature in neuroscience, including press releases and other commercial sources
  • Evaluate commercial values of drug discovery (and development) projects
  • Design proof of concept studies
Literature

See Absalon

Lectures, small practical sessions
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 46
  • Preparation
  • 130
  • Exercises
  • 30
  • Total
  • 206
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 20 minutes under invigilation
Type of assessment details
Presentation by student (10 minutes) followed by a discussion (10 minutes)
Without preparation.
Exam registration requirements

None

Aid
Without aids
Marking scale
passed/not passed
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners
Criteria for exam assesment

To achieve the grade Passed, the student must adequately be able to:

Knowledge

Demonstrate knowledge about:

  • Various aspects of drug discovery processes
  • Drug development processes in CNS diseases
  • Drug target, target validation and proof of principle
  • Various drug classes
  • Demonstrate understanding of the major unmet medical needs in neurology and psychiatry
  • Understand the unmet medical need for treatment of CNS disorders
  • Biomarkers

 

Skills

  • Describe drug discovery and development phases
  • Combine knowledge in neuroscience with drug discovery
  • Define and describe biomarkers