Drug Design and Development

Drug Design and Development outlines the processes involved in the design and development of new drugs and emphasises the significance of these processes to the practice of pharmacy. The book highlights why it is important that all practicing pharmacists, including those working in hospitals or high street stores, have a solid understanding of the process of the design and development of the drugs they interact with.

It adopts an integrated approach, formulated to complement courses which are designed in line with the General Pharmaceutical Council's new curriculum requirements.

Furthermore, this is the only integrated textbook to consider both drug design and development within one volume. Throughout the book, the journey of the drug, from discovery to market, is presented in an integrated fashion, emphasising the interconnection of all the processes involved.

Chris Rostron, Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University, Chairman of the Academic Pharmacy Forum and Deputy Chair of the Educational Expert Advisory Panel, Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Dr Chris Rostron graduated in Pharmacy from Manchester University and completed a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at Aston University. He gained Chartered Chemist status in 1975. After a period of post-doctoral research he was appointed as a lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry at Liverpool Polytechnic. He is now an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University. He was a member of the Academic Pharmacy Group Committee of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and chairman for the past 5 years. He is currently chairman of the Academic Pharmacy Forum and deputy chair of the Education Expert Advisory Panel of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. He is an external examiner in Medicinal Chemistry at a number of Schools of Pharmacy both in the UK and abroad. In 2008 he was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain for services to Pharmacy education.

1. Introduction
Part 1 Drug targets
2. Receptors and signal transduction
3. Enzymes as drug targets
4. Nucleic acids and protein synthesis as drug targets
5. Other drug targets
Part 2 Origins of drug molecules
6. Sources of lead compounds
7. Drug synthesis
8. Optimisation of lead compounds
9. Computer-aided drug design
10. Combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening
11. Biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals
Part 3 Biological aspects of drug development
12. Drug metabolism
13. Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics
14. Toxicity testing
Part 4 Preformulation studies
15. Solubility and drug development
16. Solid state characteristics
17. Drug stability
Part 5 Clinical research
18. Clinical research and its regulation
19. Design and management of clinical trials