Therapeutics module (BS52009)

Explore the latest advances in drug discovery and therapeutic development. You will look at monoclonal antibodies, gene editing and CAR-T cell therapies

Credits

Module code

BS52009

Level

Semester

Semester 2

School

School of Life Sciences

Discipline

DArcy Thompson Unit

Developing effective treatments for disease requires two elements: scientific knowledge and an understanding of the wider landscape of drug discovery. This also includes drug commercialisation and regulation.

This module covers a range of modern therapeutic approaches. It has an emphasis on current research directions in both academia and the biopharma industry.

You will cover a range of topics, such as:

monoclonal antibody and CAR-T cell therapies
novel vaccine strategies
phenotypic drug discovery
stem cell disease modelling
gene editing
anti-microbials
the regulatory and commercialisation pathways that bring new treatments to patients

Workshops use studies linked to scientific literature and clinical trials. This will ground your learning in the realities of therapeutic development. 

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

explore the mechanisms of action and development of cutting-edge therapeutic modalities. These will include CAR-T therapies, gene editing and monoclonal antibodies
examine drug discovery and development processes, from early research to clinical application
investigate commercialisation pathways, regulatory affairs and the market factors that drive biopharma research

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

understand central concepts in therapeutics across a wide range of disease types
show in-depth understanding of key technologies and methods in drug discovery and development
evaluate different commercialisation pathways and the financial and market factors that underpin them
apply problem-solving and critical reasoning skills to patient case histories and scientific data