OVERVIEW

The course is aimed at third-year students of the Single-Cycle master’s degree in pharmacy and provides 1 training credit corresponding to 8 hours of classroom teaching. It allows the student to learn the advantages, properties, scope of application and problems of some classes of drugs produced through biotechnological processes and classes of targeted drugs in the anti-tumor field

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main objective of the course is to provide the student with the basic tools to know and understand from a chemical-pharmaceutical point of view the antibodies conjugated with antitumor drugs (ADCs), some targeted drugs in oncology and hormones of therapeutic interest.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide the fundamental notions regarding some classes of biotechnological drugs. At the end of the course, the student will have acquired: i) knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the classes of drugs treated; ii) field of application; iii) ability to explain in a simple and clear way the principles underlying the development of an ADC; iv) some concepts relating to "targeted therapy" in the antitumor field and therapeutic hormones

PREREQUISITES

Knowledge of basic notions of biochemistry, organic chemistry, biology and immunology

TEACHING METHODS

The course is organized in frontal lessons. The topics will be illustrated by the teacher through Powerpoint presentations that are shared on Aulaweb.

Any Student with documented Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or with any special needs, shall reach out to the Lecturer(s) and to the dedicated SLD Representative in the Department ( Prof. Luca Raiteri, Luca.Raiteri@unige.it ) before class begins, in order to liaise and arrange the specific learning methods and ensure proper achievement of the learning aims and outcomes. VERY IMPORTANT: any request for compensatory tools and adaptations in the exam MUST be done within 10 working days before the date of the exam according to the instructions that can be found at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/comunicazioni

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs): general information, key components (antibody, cytotoxic drug, chemical linkers), conjugation methods, mechanisms of action (first, second, third generation ADCs), ADCs approved in clinical practice, future prospects

Targeted drugs in oncology: general information on protein kinases, classes of protein kinase inhibitors, inhibitors of BCR-ABL, BTK, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, MEK, CDK4/6, VEGFR, farnesyltransferase inhibitors

Hormones of therapeutic interest: growth hormone, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

-A. Gasco, F. Gualtieri, C. Melchiorre. Chimica Farmaceutica, seconda edizione.  EdiSES Università

-G. Costantino, G. Sbardella. Chimica Farmaceutica. EdiSES Università

-E. Vegeto, A. Maggi, P. Minghetti. Farmaci biotecnologici, aspetti farmacologici e clinici. Casa Editrice Ambrosiana

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The timetable for this course can be found at: EasyAcademy Portal

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will consist of a written test with 3 open questions on the topics of all three 1 CFU modules (3 CFU total) lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes. To pass this test, the student must have obtained a passing grade in all three modules, otherwise he/she will have to repeat the entire written test. The written test can be taken only after having passed the 6 CFU immunology module.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the exam, the student will have to demonstrate the knowledge acquired during the lessons, also with connections to related disciplines.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Contact the teacher for further information not included in the teaching sheet