Introduction to pharmacology Flashcards
(21 cards)
Pharmacology word breakdown
Pharmakon - drug, remedy or poison
Logos - a rational discussion
What is pharmacology?
the study of the interaction between chemical substances (drugs) and living systems
what can drugs be?
beneficial (therapeutic)
no effect
unpleasent
what always happens when drugs are taken?
side effects
what are the 2 aspects of pharmacology?
pharmacodynamics
pharmacokinetics
pharmacodynamics
what the drug does to the body
pharmacokinetics
what the body does to the drug
what does the body do when a drug is taken?
works to metabolise and eliminate the drug
why is pharmacology studied?
developing new drugs
improve effectiveness of current medicines
study addiction
decrease death rates from certain diseases
what are the issues with bringing a new drug to the market?
costs £2Bn
takes years
big failure rate
stages of bringing a new drug to the market
- find the best protein to target for the disease
- find molecules that interact with the protein target (inhibit or activate)
- lead optimization (making the molecule more drug-like)
- preclinical (animal testing)
- 3 phases
- registration
what happens when a drug fails in phase 2?
come a long way for nothing and it’s costly to get here in the first place
types of drugs
small molecule drugs
vaccines
antibody drugs (biologics)
peptide drugs
also
gene and cell therapy
biologics
antibody drugs
antibody drugs
biologics
what type of drugs will there be more of in the future?
gene and cell therapy
what are biologics used for?
cancer, auto-immune diseases (most drugs are like this)
what are most drugs?
biologics (antibody drugs)
what are peptide drugs used for?
diabetes (exploited for weight loss)
type of drugs used for cancer and auto-immune diseases
biologics (antibody drugs)
type of drugs used for diabetes
peptide drugs
