CHEM 4440 Medicinal Chemistry

Medicinal Chemistry attempts to convey a global understanding about drug design and the molecular
mechanisms by which drugs act in the body. Concepts presented in the two-semester organic chemistry
courses (organic I and II) will be applied in discussing principles of drug discovery, drug development,
drug/receptor interactions, and structure/activity relationships. This course will provide a global and
integrated look at chemistry, biology, drug discovery, and medicine. It will also focus on the most
important and globally used medicines such as antibacterial agents, antibiotics, anti-cancer, antimalarial,
and antidepressant drugs. Coverage includes the condition it treats, a summary of its
industrial development, the year put into practice, the biological target for the medicine, the human
proteins related to the disease, the metabolism or action of the condition treated, and the interacting
side effects and related drugs and the regulations of the drug approval worldwide. The course will also
focus on the global awareness of the medicines and provide the global perspective of drug design and
development through various case studies of global drug markets. This course will prepare students to
identify and face the global challenges and issues in drug discovery and medicine development
worldwide. Fulfills UCC area 6. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 2580
Credits: 3.0