This course begins with a review of routes of administration, ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, & excretion), and the use of in vivo drug concentration-time data to determine key pharmacokinetic parameters, like volume of distribution, half-life and clearance.  The course then emphasizes in vitro assays that allow rapid prediction of ADME and PK properties for evaluation of new compounds.  The later stages of the course focus on how drug discovery teams study this PK/PD relationship, as well as dose size and frequency predictions which ultimately assist in selection of a compound for advancement into the clinic.  
This course is suitable for life scientists, clinicians, and individuals from fields that support drug discovery (e.g., patents, finance, licensing, etc.) interested in learning more about the pharmaceutical/biotechnology sector. Advanced undergraduate coursework or practical familiarity/working knowledge in biological sciences and organic chemistry is recommended.
Overview
Syllabus
- Pharmacokinetics, part 1
- Welcome, by the end of the course students will be able to: Summarize the key concepts of pharmacokinetics (PK), ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion), volume of distribution, half-life and clearance. Differentiate between different routes of drug administration and their impact on PK parameters. Define and describe the influence of transporters, plasma protein binding (PPB) and drug-drug interactions (DDIs) on the PK of a drug molecule. Explain how PK/PD relationships are derived and their importance for defining the anticipated human dose.
- Pharmacokinetics, part 2
- Pharmacokinetics, part 3
Taught by
Erland Stevens, PhD, W. Ross Tracey, PhD, Douglas S. Auld, PhD, Alan P. Brown, PhD, DABT, Sujal Deshmukh, PhD, Stephanie Dodd, MSc., Sabine Guth, PhD, and Thomas M. Smith, PhD
