Ateneo - UPO

The course aims to provide students with the fundamentals of pharmacology, including: - the process of discovery, development, and approval of new drugs; - principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics; - evaluation of the risk-benefit profile of drugs; - variability in drug response. The course will then emphasize the rational basis for the development of targeted therapies. Finally, examples of biotechnological drugs that have revolutionized the pharmacological landscape will be extensively described.

Goodman and Gilman's Pharmaceutical Basis of the Therapeutics - latest edition Rang & Dale: Pharmacology – latest edition.

The course aims to provide knowledge and skills related to pharmacology, with a particular focus on drugs developed using biotechnological methods.

Basic knowledge of biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, and pathology necessary to understand the rationale behind drug development, their specific mechanisms of action, as well as their risk-benefit profile.

Classroom lectures supported by PowerPoint presentations. Course materials will be made available on the DIR course page.

Student meetings with the lecturer of the Course are subject to prior appointment agreed via e-mail. Students with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or special educational needs can consult the University's webpage at https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities and request support from the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti.

Written exam with multiple-choice questions. Student learning outcomes will be assessed using a score ranging from 18 (minimum) to 30 with honors (maximum). Specifically, a score between 18 and 23 indicates sufficient but limited knowledge; from 24 to 26, the student demonstrates satisfactory knowledge; from 27 to 28, the student shows good knowledge and an adequate ability to contextualize the acquired information within the scientific field. Scores from 29 to 30 reflect excellent knowledge and a good ability to place the learned information in the scientific context. Finally, students achieving 30 with honors demonstrate outstanding knowledge.

The course aims to provide students with the fundamental principles of pharmacology, including: -the process of discovery, development, and approval of new drugs; -clinical trials and the collection of evidence regarding the benefits and risks of drugs; -general principles of drug action (pharmacodynamics); -pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion); -pharmacogenetic biomarkers; -general principles of pharmacovigilance; -description of the pharmacological profile of biotechnological drugs that have revolutionized pharmacological treatment in various pathological conditions, including oncological, neurological, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases.

Knowledge: by the end of the course, the student will have learned the fundamental principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, as well as those governing interindividual variability in drug response. Additionally, the student will be familiar with the most relevant examples of biotechnological drugs currently available on the market. Skills: the student will have sufficient intellectual tools to understand and evaluate the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of any drug in development or already available on the market.