Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LI Science of Medicines 2
School	Institute of Clinical Sciences
Department	Pharmacy
Module Code	01 39111
Module Lead	Dr Olaitan Abiona
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	40
Semester	Full Term
Pre-requisites	Basic Life Support - (01 27326) LC Health Sciences 1 - (01 39101) LC Science of Medicines 1 - (01 39102) LC Professional Experience Placements 1 - (01 39106) LC Applied Pharmacy Practice 1 - (01 39100) LC Portfolio 1 - (01 39103)
Co-requisites
Restrictions	Students are required to achieve a minimum module mark of 50%, and a minimum of 40% in each component of the module (course work and examinations).
Contact Hours	Lecture-50 hours Tutorial-10 hours Practical Classes and workshops-35 hours Guided independent study-305 hours Total: 400 hours
Exclusions
Description	Building on the foundations set in year 1, Science of Medicines 2 will be delivered in Year 2, starting in semester 1 and spanning the whole academic year. The module covers areas related to the science of pharmacy and its application to the discovery, development, and quality assessment of medicinal products. This module will allow students to understand the basic principles of pharmaceutical development including the analytical instrumentation applied to the synthesis, purification, identification, stability and quality assessment of raw materials and medicinal products. Principles involved in the synthesis of drug molecules and common strategies used in drug discovery will be explored, with some reference to drugs used in the management of health conditions covered in the Y2 Health Sciences and Advanced Pharmacy Practice modules. In year 2, students will start to explore more complex drug molecules, such as peptides and the challenges researchers face in their formulation. Scientific and regulatory principles underlying the formulation, manufacturing, packaging and assessment of solid dosage forms, soft-gel capsules and preparations destined for oromucosal, pulmonary, intranasal, ocular, or parenteral administration will also be explored. There will be a particular focus on identifying and troubleshooting formulation issues associated with the different dosage forms covered in this module. Students will also gain an appreciation for the importance of contamination control and aseptic production in the context of manufacture and quality assessment of sterile dosage forms. In Science of Medicines 2, students will continue their learning of pharmacokinetics and toxicology principles and how the physico-chemical properties of a drug affect its behaviour in the body. There will be a particular focus on the pharmacokinetics of drugs following intravenous administration as an introductory model. The kinetics involved in chemical drug degradation will also be covered, including their application to the assessment of drug stability and estimation of shelf-life.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Apply prior learning to and integrate it with the new learning content of this module. Examine common synthetic pathways used in the development of drug molecules. Explain the mode of operation of common pharmaceutical analytical instruments and how they are used in the assessment of drugs, excipients and/or medicinal products. Discuss the scope and limitations of common analytical techniques for the assessment of medicinal products and perform basic data analysis using the outputs. Describe common technologies used in generating lead compounds and explore the role of computational methods in the drug discovery process using examples of medicinal compounds commonly used in clinical practice. Describe the synthesis and chemical properties of bio-inspired drug molecules, such as peptides, and discuss the challenges associated with their formulation using clinically relevant examples. Describe and discuss the properties, formulation requirements, quality assessment and packaging of medicinal products administered via the enteral, buccal, ocular, parenteral, pulmonary and/or intranasal route with reference to pharmaceutically important examples and suggest suitable strategies to address formulation, stability and/or packaging challenges. Describe the regulatory framework surrounding the manufacturing, labelling, packaging, and quality assessment of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Discuss the need for contamination control and describe the methods of sterilisation used in the formulation of parenteral and ophthalmic products. Discuss the importance of drug degradation in drug formulation and apply common models that describe the kinetics of drug decomposition to determine rate constants and shelf-life. Relate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, including potential adverse effects of drugs to their molecular structure and/or physico-chemical properties. Apply common mathematical models that describe the kinetics of drug elimination following intravenous administration to calculate relevant pharmacokinetics parameters and inform clinical decision-making. Appraise simple experimental protocols used for the assessment of raw materials and/or pharmaceutical dosage forms for validity against pharmacopeial recommendations. Present and discuss experimental data (including appropriate mathematical analysis) by written and/or oral means, referencing relevant resources.
Assessment	39111-01 : Pracitcal (non-clinical) : Practical (20%) 39111-02 : Written Task (non-clinical) : Coursework (10%) 39111-03 : Group Presentation (non-clinical) : Presentation (10%) 39111-04 : End of Year Exam (non-clinical) : Exam (Centrally timetabled) - Computer based (60%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: Coursework: Practicals (20%) (non-clinical) Written task (10%) (non-clinical) Oral presentation (10%) Group work (non-clinical) Examination: On-campus timed closed book: MCQ/SAQ 3-hours (60%) (non-clinical) Reassessment: Students who fail to achieve a minimum module mark of 50% will be reassessed in every element (examination and coursework) in which they achieved less than 50%. This will take place in the supplementary exam period. Students who fail to meet the internal hurdle will be reassessed for every component affected. This will take place in the supplementary period. Group work: upon submission of group work, students are requested to declare if any students did not contribute equally to the assessment. If unequal contribution is declared, each student is asked to independently complete a 'Self and peer assessment form', scoring different aspects of contribution and teamwork. Individual student marks can be reduced based on their contribution. A failure of a single student would require re-submission of an alternative aligned assessment, appropriately weighted to an individual assessment.
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