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
At conclusion of this course the student will:
1. identify the main factors of drug action (bioavailability and mechanism of action at their targets);
2. know the main approaches to design biotechnological drugs, also from a computational point of view;
3. use the acquired knowledge design strategies and approaches to drug design;
4. understand and critically evaluate both the theoretical and practical examples form literature related to design of novel biotechnological drugs;
5. demonstrate effective communication skills and with adequate scientific terminology, both oral and written way;
6. demonstrate to resume and show the information as a written report (also referred to chemical interactions and description of complex macromolecular structures).