Biotechnology-Based Therapeutics

Catalog description

Advances in genomics, proteomics, recombinant protein technology and structural biology have created opportunities and challenges for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. This course will provide students with a background of the scientific basis of some key aspects of biotechnology-based drugs that involves design, discovery and development process. Students will learn about therapeutic and vaccine targets, and how the drugs and vaccines are designed, tested and produced. They will also learn about recently developed biological pharmaceuticals along with many of the current targets of pharmaceutical companies. The mechanism of many of the current biotechnology-based therapeutics will be discussed. A group project will be required in which each group will provide a short business plan for the development of a new biologic drug. This course will consist of lectures, seminars, student presentations and group discussions. Environmental, ethical, regulatory, patent, economic and social issues related to biotechnology-based therapeutics will also be discussed.