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Need assessment: summary Course Description: The mission of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry course is to introduce students to the structure, properties, and analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) of drug molecules and their metabolites. Topics include some of the basic concepts in medicinal chemistry as well as methods of pharmaceutical and bio medical analysis such as 1) the drug discovery and development process, 2) review of organic functional groups found in drug molecules, 3) drug-target interactions, 4) physicochemical properties related to drug action such as acidbase properties, equilibrium, and stereochemistry, 5) chemical aspects of drug metabolism, 6) chromatographic separation and spectroscopic identification of organic compounds and drug metabolites, and 7) inorganic drugs and oxidizing germicides. The analytical techniques covered in this course are of great importance to the clinical laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry (e.g. spectroscopy, chromatography).

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Need assessment: summary Mission and Vision

Vision The School envisions becoming the premier School of Pharmacy in South Africa and the African continent through critical engagement in pharmaceutically and socially relevant education and training, research and service.

Mission The School seeks to achieve excellence in the education and training of pharmacists, equipping Pharmacy graduates to meet the present and future pharmaceutical health care needs of the country in all spheres of Pharmacy, viz., community/retail, hospital, industry, academia and research and development. The mission and vision of the School are reflected in its objectives, which are:

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To produce pharmacy graduates who, in order to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes, will be responsible for the appropriate use of medications and devices; the design of dosage forms; the compounding of medicines; and the provision of appropriate healthcare services. To produce pharmacy graduates who, together with other members of the healthcare team, will take an active role in appropriate drug choices for patients, and who will assume responsibility for the empowerment of patients to achieve the desired outcomes of drug and related therapies. To produce pharmacy graduates, who will provide a comprehensive pharmaceutical health service, which includes preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative care, and which is relevant and appropriate to community served. To inculcate an ethical approach to all patients, as well as an awareness of the patient and his/her illness in a holistic setting, including family and social relationships. To produce pharmacy graduates who will collaborate and other health professionals and share in responsibilities for the outcomes of drug and related therapies. To promote undergraduate and postgraduate research in the pharmaceutical sciences and relevant social sciences, which will, inter alia, ensure the provision of a more affordable, accessible and appropriate pharmaceutical health service to all South Africans. To encourage staff and students to contribute to pharmaceutical health planning and to the formulation of rational drug policies. To offer continuing and supplementary pharmaceutical education programmes for pharmacists and other health personnel. To undertake an on-going process of curriculum review to ensure the relevance of the departmental academic programme to

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Need assessment: summary

Lecture Schedule for Spring 2007 (PDF File) Course Policy for Spring 2007 (PDF file)

Pharmaceutical Chemistry is an area of chemistry focused on the development, production, and delivery of drugs used to prevent, cure, and relieve symptoms of disease. Pharmaceutical chemists may synthesize new drugs, or modify older drugs so that they have improved therapeutic value, are less toxic, or have improved stability. The need to demonstrate safety, bioavailability, and effectiveness of all new drugs, as mandated by the FDA, places unique quality control requirements on all aspects of the drug manufacturing and distribution process. To meet these requirements, pharmaceutical chemists also develop improved analytical techniques for monitoring the levels of drugs in the body and to ascertain the safety and potency of the drugs on the pharmacy shelf.

Your Future in Pharmaceutical Chemistry The demand is strong for professionals with expertise in pharmaceutical chemistry. You can pursue rewarding positions in: • • •

Pharmaceutical firms Government laboratories such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health Industrial settings, where you may function as part of a drug development team or work in production, quality control, or sales

Pharmaceutical Chemistry B.S. 1. General description and characteristics of the program. Pharmaceutical Chemistry is the study of the molecular and mechanistic aspects of pharmaceuticals. The discipline emphasizes the chemistry of drug design and development, drug action, drug transport, drug delivery, and targeting. The development of new pharmaceuticals is critically dependent on a molecular-level understanding of biological processes and mechanisms of drug action. Progress in the field now depends

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Need assessment: summary on the design and synthesis of new molecules using tools such as structure activity relationships, combinatorial chemistry, and computer-aided drug design. In recent years rational design of drugs tuned to specific target sites is becoming a reality due to concurrent advances in chemistry and biology, including elucidation of the human genome. Chemists continue to be at the forefront of drug design, synthesis, testing, and development. A bachelor’s program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry will emphasize the molecular basis underlying the creation of new drugs and health applications of bioactive compounds. The proposed program will prepare students to fully and confidently participate in health and biomedical careers. 2. Rationale The pharmaceutical industry is a major employer of chemists; in recent years more than 20% of graduates with BS and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry work in the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies need employees with strong skills in modern chemical techniques as well as a good understanding of biomedical issues such as drug action, drug design and drug development. Students are increasingly career-oriented and are motivated by early exposure to applications of their studies. Although the proposed program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry suggests a clear career goal, it includes sufficient grounding in fundamental chemistry to allow graduates flexibility if their career plans change. Graduates of this program will have a solid foundation in basic chemistry with a focus on pharmaceutical applications. They will have skills necessary to work productively in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the areas of research and development. Those seeking further education will be prepared for graduate work in chemistry or biochemistry, or professional programs in pharmacy or other health sciences.

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Need assessment: summary Degrees of this type, combining basic science with real-world applications, are an ideal preparation for medical school or law school. (Pharmacy schools, of course, are not excluded, but they usually only require for a pre-pharmacy curriculum completion of the sophomore year or approximately 70 semester hours at an institution of higher learning although the acquisition of a baccalaureate degree is often considered a plus in applying to pharmacy school, and graduates are ranked higher during the initial screening.) In addition, pharmaceutical chemistry will provide an excellent groundwork for careers in patent law.

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