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FutureLearn

From Lab to Clinic: Translational Research for Rare Diseases

Foundation for Rare Diseases via FutureLearn

Overview

Discover how research is translated into drugs and treatments for RD patients

On this five-week course from the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases, you’ll explore the drug development process from the unique perspective of rare diseases.

You will follow the journey from discovery to approved products, learn how therapeutic targets and drug candidates are identified and validated, and examine the special regulatory frameworks.

Describe translational medicine phases like drug discovery, clinical trials and regulatory approval

Guided by experts in the field of rare diseases, you’ll examine current research projects, and learn the definitions and contexts, as well as hearing from patients directly involved in clinical research.

You will explore some of the specific challenges of the drug development process, gaining contextual insights into this vital area of medical research.

Understand the do’s and don’ts when moving from bench to bedside

From first-in-man to post-marketing studies, you’ll trace each step of a clinical trial, learning to plan and design your trial and address any regulatory issues.

You’ll examine how to end a clinical trial and how to approach marketing approval and authorisation. You’ll also investigate data sharing and reuse post-trial.

By the end of this course, you’ll understand how, during the process of translational research, you build evidence that a treatment is safe and effective.

This course is designed for researchers and students in medicine and health-related research fields, as well as healthcare professionals wanting to further their knowledge of translational research in rare diseases.

It is also suitable for biotech and start-up developers and Patients Advocacy Organisation representatives who want to increase their understanding of current practices in therapeutic developments for rare diseases.

This course has been developed through funding from the EJP RD project.

The European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases is an initiative that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N825575.

Syllabus

  • Getting into the Translational Medicine
    • Welcome and introduction
    • Setting the scene
    • What are the specific challenges and opportunities when developing medicines for rare diseases?
    • Developing a treatment for a rare disease: a case example
    • Key tools for rare disease research studies
    • Test your knowledge
  • How to move from bench to preclinic studies
    • Welcome and introduction
    • How to plan the development of new medicines: an introduction
    • The target identification
    • Going from hits to leads
    • Drug repurposing
    • Developing therapies in rare diseases: the promises of new advanced therapies
    • Test your knowledge
  • Preclinical models for rare diseases
    • Welcome and introduction
    • What are animal models?
    • Challenges and new model options in rare diseases
    • Ethics and animal modeling
    • When to use which types of animal models?
    • Moving from preclinical to clinical studies
    • Why patient partnerships should be developed from the early stages of research
    • Test your knowledge
  • Clinical trials: for and with rare disease patients
    • Welcome and introduction
    • Avoiding common mistakes when moving from preclinical to clinical studies
    • From pre-clinical to first-in-human
    • A real planning process
    • Clinical trial design
    • Regulatory issues
    • Patient Reported Outcomes
    • Test your knowledge
  • What happens after a clinical trial?
    • Welcome and introduction
    • Ending a clinical trial and drug approval process overview
    • Post marketing authorization studies
    • Preclinical & clinical data sharing and reuse
    • Test your knowledge

Taught by

Magda Granata

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