Drug Design

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Topic

The course offers an overview of the whole process of drug design between selection of the disease and marketing of the drug. The introductory lectures are followed by detailed reviews of certain phases of drug design including prediction of both drug action and pharmacokinetic properties. In this regard, theoretical and experimental methods of drug design will be also introduced. Case studies will demonstrate successful examples and also difficulties arising during the design process. Students with a researcher attitude are primary targets of this course. Besides them, the course provides useful knowledge for future medical doctors and pharmacists as it explains the complex process of drug discovery in a comprehensible way. This hopefully helps the students navigating in the jungle of laws of pharmacology also used in molecular design. Furthermore, the course deals with the problems of prediction of toxicity and side-effects, and discusses certain questions of production and legalization process of new drugs, as well. In Journal Club sessions, recent research articles will be featured with the students to deepen their knowledge in the areas discussed during the previous lectures. In this way, the students can discover further connections themselves and make sure of the usefulness of their newly obtained knowledge in drug design.

Lectures

• 1. Selection of the disease. Goals, terminology, trends. - Hetényi Csaba
• 2. Conditions. Strategies. Ligand-based design. - Hetényi Csaba
• 3. Traditional design. - Hetényi Csaba
• 4. Target-based drug design. - Hetényi Csaba
• 5. Target selection and validation. - Hetényi Csaba
• 6. Protein targets 1. General overview, structural proteins. - Hetényi Csaba
• 7. Protein targets 2. Enzymes and receptors. - Hetényi Csaba
• 8. Experimental structure determination methods. - Hetényi Csaba
• 9. Theoretical structure determination methods. - Hetényi Csaba
• 10. Lipids and nucleic acids as targets. - Hetényi Csaba
• 11. Journal club 1. Comparison of strategies - Hetényi Csaba
• 12. Journal club 2. Evaluation of targets - Hetényi Csaba
• 13. Experimental methods of lead selection and design. - Hetényi Csaba
• 14. Molecular complexes of leads. Thermodynamic and kinetic stability. - Hetényi Csaba
• 15. Theoretical methods of lead selection and design. - Hetényi Csaba
• 16. Lead optimizations, transformations. - Hetényi Csaba
• 17. ADMETox optimization 1. Goals, general description. - Hetényi Csaba
• 18. ADMETox optimization 2. Methods. - Hetényi Csaba
• 19. Termination of design. Production and development. Side-effects and postmarketing surveillance. - Hetényi Csaba
• 20. Case studies. The design of antiviral drugs. - Hetényi Csaba
• 21. Journal club 3. Development of new methods - Hetényi Csaba
• 22. Journal club 4. Paradigm shifts of drug design - Hetényi Csaba
• 23. Test - Hetényi Csaba
• 24. Test - Hetényi Csaba

Practices

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

The material of the course including pdfs of lectures and lists of questions will be made downloadable from the web site of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy or from TEAMS or a link will be provided during the lectures / in an e-mail.

Notes

Recommended literature

Patrick GL: An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry, Oxford University Press

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

- Test writing OR
- Journal Club presentation

Mid-term exams

There is a final test announced at the end of the semester. The test will include multiple choice questions or short essays. A mark is offered according to the results of the written test OR optionally by evaluation of the student's presentation prepared for the Journal Club. The student can improve the mark according to university regulations.

Making up for missed classes

Replacement is possible according to personal consultation.

Exam topics/questions

Lists of questions will be provided for each lecture in pdf format.

Examiners

• Hetényi Csaba

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars