Course description
Design of biopharmaceuticals is a course in which concepts of chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry acquired during the previous courses are employed to understand the mechanism of action and the strategies for the design of new generation of biotechnological drugs.
The course is aimed at the description of the bases of drug action (both small- and macro-molecules) and of the physiological/pathological functions of their targets, as well as at the description of new classes of drugs (for example, antibodies and therapeutic proteins). The course aims to provide the basis for a comprehensive understanding of the strategies of rational drug design.

Learning outcomes
• Cognitive skills
- acquisition of the fundamental elements that affect the bioavailability and function (in general) of drugs
- obtaining of the information necessary for the understanding of the molecular basis of drug action at their targets
- knowledge of the main strategies of drug design (also from a computational point of view).
• Learning abilities
- ability to read, understand and criticize a scientific text concerning the course topics (in English)
- ability to use these knowledge to evaluate the aims and/or the results of a research project both on the qualitative and quantitative point of view.
• Practical and subject specific skills
- ability to identify the main factors critical for the efficacy of a drug
- ability to assume the strategies and approaches (also computational) for drugs design
- ability to propose an analytical problem-solving approach.
• Communication skills
- ability to identify and express relevant information
- demonstrate effective communication skills by practicing, reading, writing and speaking clearly
- demonstrate the ability to resume and present the scientific information (also as a written report)