Therapeutic approaches and biotechnology

This unit covers the fundamentals and principles of modern biotechnology-based therapeutic approaches for treating and managing diseases.  You will learn about the cellular and molecular basis of drug actions that underpin new drug development. The general principles of the pathway for developing a new drug or biotechnological device for therapeutic use will be outlined.
You will gain knowledge of drug discovery research methodology through designing suitable experiments to investigate the pharmacological properties of novel compounds, and interpreting data arising from these experiments. The unit also provides an overview of different sectors in the biotechnology industry, and their role in the development, commercialisation and regulation of therapeutics.