PHR1022 How Medicines Work II

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. 1

   Explain and predict properties of drugs based on structural shape, ionisation states, functional group behaviour and physicochemical characteristics

2. 2

   Outline medicinal chemistry approaches that are used to improve drug disposition and action

3. 3

   Describe the chemistry of drug-receptor interactions including structure-activity relationships

4. 4

   Explain the methods used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of drugs and biomarkers

5. 5

   List and describe different drug targets and predict the downstream effects of drug-target interactions in physiological and pathophysiological settings, with respect to a/an: (a) Antagonist (b) Agonist (c) Enzyme inhibitor (d) Uptake inhibitor (e) Ion channel modulator (f) Biological therapy

6. 6

   Describe the mechanism(s) of action of the first year Pharmulary drugs

7. 7

   Predict the distribution and clearance of drugs from an analysis of their chemical structure

8. 8

   Calculate and describe how drug clearance and volume of distribution determine the plasma concentration profile of a drug

9. 9

   Calculate and apply a range of secondary pharmacokinetic parameters that determine dosage regimens

10. 10

    Describe, define and calculate drug bioavailability

11. 11

    Describe and evaluate how the relationship between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics determines the time-course of drug response

12. 12

    Calculate cumulative drug response given the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a drug

13. 13

    Describe different types of drug-drug interactions and predict their impact on plasma drug concentration vs time profiles and therapeutic response

14. 14

    Use a structured approach for problem solving

15. 15

    Effectively communicate (orally and written) aspects of how medicines work to peers, lay people and other healthcare professionals