Ateneo - UPO

The course provides the students with the main information about ADMET of dermatological drugs. The course also provides the students with the principles for the discovery and optimization of a bioactive compound, from hit to lead compounds to drug candidates. The design of prodrugs and soft drugs for topical use is covered. Case studies on dermatological drugs are presented from a medicinal chemistry perspectives.

G.L. Patrick, An introduction to medicinal chemistry

1. At the end of the course the student will know and understand the basic concepts of medicinal chemistry, in particular the route followed by the drug in the organism, from its administration to its excretion and how it interacts with its molecular target, focusing mainly on oral and topical administration. Moreover, the path of the drug in the pharmaceutical industry, from drug discovery to drug development through drug design will be addressed. 2. The student will apply the acquired knowledge and understanding in the recognition of the chemical structures, in the discussion of the chemical and chemical-physical properties, of the mechanism of action, of the structure-activity relationship and of the metabolic fate. 3. The student will acquire the ability to analyze texts and papers in the medicinal chemistry literature. 4. The student will learn to communicate about his/her understanding, to describe, even in an original way, a topic described during lessons, to adequately answer to questions, critiques and suggestions. He/she will also learn how to present a drug to the public using the information searched in the scientific literature and in databases. 5. The student will have the learning skills to handle in a dynamic way his/her knowledge in medicinal chemistry with a good degree of autonomy.

Basic knowledge of biology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, pharmacology and physiology.

Lectures and case studies.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Written test. It covers the material delivered in lectures. Multiple choice, true/false and completion type questions are the most frequent types of questions. 1 or 2 points for the correct answer, 0 points for wrong or blank answers. Oral presentation. Students will be given a dermatological approved small molecule. Working individually, they will need to cover the main medchem aspects (metabolism, synthesis, intermolecular interactions, discovery and optimization, stereochemistry, LogP, LogD, etc.) and pharmacology aspects (mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic need, competitors, and place in therapy). The Case Study will be orally presented by the students with the support of slides in a 10’ presentation. The total mark is the average between the two marks.

Absorption. Mechanisms of absorption with a focus on skin. Phase I and phase II metabolism with a focus on skin and liver metabolism. Principles of pharmacodynamic. Drug-target intermolecular interactions and SAR studies. Role of stereochemistry in the interaction with the binding site. Drug discovery. Hit compounds and lead compounds. How to recognize drug-like molecules. LogP and logD. Lipinski rule and beyond. Strategies for lead optimization. Prodrugs and soft drugs. Case studies of dermatological drugs.

At the end of the course, the student will know the principles of medicinal chemistry. He/she will be able to apply these principles to a specific bioactive molecule and to evaluate its chemical, metabolic and drug-likeness properties. The student will also know the role of medicinal chemistry in drug discovery and in drug design and the strategies that can be used in order to improve the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of a dermatological drug.