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Tuesday 21st May
Birth of a drug
The search for new medicinal products is one of the major driving...
The search for new medicinal products is one of the major driving forces behind the development and application of new synthetic methods. This unit focuses on a specific case study, which follows the development of a drug for the treatment of high blood pressure. It is a particularly good example of the application of organic chemistry in the pharmaceutical industry, and illustrates the scientific processes that are involved in the development of any new drug.
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- explain the criteria that must be satisfied before starting new drug development;
- say how an understanding of the pharmaceutical background is a necessary basis for the design of the new drug;
- understand the strategies used in the research programme and how they led eventually to the development of a new drug.
- Duration: 4 hours
- Published on: Friday 13th May 2011
- Level: Advanced
- Posted under: Chemistry
Birth of a drug
Introduction

This unit examines how organic chemistry is used within the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs. You will investigate the process of drug development by following one new product through the intial process and research programme.
This unit is from our archive and it is an adapted extract from Organic chemistry: A synthesis approach (S344) which is no longer in presentation. If you wish to study formally at The Open University, you may wish to explore the courses we offer in this curriculum area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
Archive content
This is an extract from an Open University course which is no longer available to new students. If you found this interesting you could explore more free Chemistry course units or view the range of currently available OU Chemistry courses.
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- Creative-Commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence. However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions. Full details can be found in the Acknowledgements section.
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