The Society’s Education and Training committee are keen to ensure that the undergraduate curriculum stays relevant and up to date in between more formal reviews. We welcome all feedback on the below core knowledge. If you would like to send us some feedback, please email education@bps.ac.uk.
Having successfully completed an undergraduate degree in Pharmacology, graduates have knowledge and understandig of the below Core Knowledge Statements. We have also included the broad learning outcomes and some resources
Expanded Knowledge Statements
Theoretical principles of drug action
Drugs can be used in health and disease, giving examples from body systems
Broad learning outcome:
- Describe the mechanism of action, clinically relevant pharmacokinetics and major adverse side effects of drugs that are commonly used in therapeutic strategies, giving examples from the body systems for example statins and beta blockers
Resources:
How drugs interact with their targets, including drug-receptor theory
Broad learning outcome:
- Describe the molecular targets for drug action within the body including receptors, ion channels, enzymes and transporters, and outline the principles of how drugs interact with their targets.
Resources:
Pharmacodynamics (molecule to whole organism)
Broad learning outcome:
- Explain drug and chemical post-target effects on cellular signalling and how these integrate into responses. Describe how pharmacological concepts (e.g. Emax, EC50, Kd, receptor occupancy), along with the mechanisms of action relate to dosing regime and whole organism effect.
Resources:
Pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion)
Broad learning outcome: Use pharmacokinetic principles relating to ADME to discuss and analyse drugs and their administration using specific examples
Resources:
How physiological and pathophysiological processes are affected by drug action
Broad learning outcome: Describe the ways in which drugs interacting with their targets influence specific downstream events that lead to changes in cell, tissue, organ and / or whole organism performance, explaining the relevance of this in health and disease
Resources:
Pharmacogenomics
Broad learning outcome: Explain (with examples) how individual and population genetics can influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic responses to drugs, relating this to personalised medicine and drug discovery.
Resources:
Principles of toxicology and their application in safety pharmacology
Broad learning outcome: Describe the relationship between dose, exposure and adverse effects of a substance, relating this to its safe and effective use in an organism
Resources:
- Pharmaceutical Toxicology by Mulder, G J & Lennart,D (2006) Pharmaceutical Press. ISBN 0-85369-593-8
Principles of translational research and experimental medicine
Broad learning outcome: Describe translational research and describe the stages from foundational and pre-clinical research through to application of new therapies and diagnostics in individuals and populations
Resources:
Methodological principles
Qualitative and quantitative statistical tools and analytical methods used to interpret pharmacological data
Broad learning outcome: Apply knowledge of maths and statistics to summarise and visualise data, using appropriate models and inferential tests to interpret results and make inferences in relation to the study design.
Resources:
The scientific method (hypothesis formulation, hypothesis testing, experimental design, experimental analysis).
Broad learning outcome: Use the research literature to identify an appropriate research question and develop a testable hypothesis to answer it. Design a suitable series of experiments to test a hypothesis and understand principles of good experimental design. Critically appraise the design and analysis of an experiment to test a hypothesis.
Resources:
Appropriate and emerging methods for interrogating the pharmacodynamic effects of drugs
Broad learning outcome: Explore different methods for interrogating the pharmacodynamic effects of drugs, for example, fluorescent techniques or molecular dynamics approaches. Explain which methods are appropriate for measurement of different parameters
Resources:
- General considerations around PD and measurement in preclinical trials:
- What is Pharmacodynamics? (news-medical.net)
- Case study determining pre-clinical PD of cariprazine
- Preclinical pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characterization of th | DDDT (dovepress.com)
- Examples of emerging strategies and their use in PD measurement:
- Pharmacodynamic assays to facilitate preclinical and clinical development of pre‐mRNA splicing modulatory drug candidates - Shi - 2015 - Pharmacology Research & Perspectives - Wiley Online Library
Appropriate and emerging methods for interrogating the pharmacokinetic effects of drugs
Broad learning outcome: Explore different methods for interrogating the pharmacokinetic effects of drugs, for example, labeling or mass spectroscopy of plasma or urine samples. Explain that total plasma or tissue concentrations can be predicted by incorporating key pharmacokinetic parameters into mathematical models.
There are three broad areas within in:
- measuring drug concentrations
- using drug concentrations to predict dose regimens using models
- the relationship (or lack of) with drug action
Resources:
- Therapeutic drug monitoring: https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/therapeutic-drug-monitoring
- Rowland, M. and Tozer, T. N.2011. Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics: concepts and applications. Fourth Ed.
- D J Birkett, 2010 Pharmacokinetics Made Easy, 2nd Ed, McGraw-Hill
- A.A. Heller, S.Y. Lockwood, T.M. Janes, and D.M. Spence (2018) Technologies for Measuring Pharmacokinetic Profiles, Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 11:79-100 https://doi-org/10.1146/annurev-anchem-061417-125611
- Drug absorption: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/pharmacology/drug-absorption
- Drug distribution: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/pharmacology/drug-distribution
- Drug metabolism: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/pharmacology/drug-metabolism
- Drug excretion: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/pharmacology/drug-excretion
- Clinical pharmacokinetics: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/clinical-pharmacology/clinical-pharmacokinetics
- Interindividual variability in pharmacokinetics: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/clinical-pharmacology/individual-variation-drug-response
- Therapeutic drug monitoring: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/clinical-pharmacology/therapeutic-drug-monitoring
- Drug interactions: https://www.pharmacologyeducation.org/clinical-pharmacology/drug-interactions
Drugs as pharmacological tools in scientific research
Broad learning outcome: Explore the use of drugs as tools for scientific research and evaluate the impact of these on the scientific knowledge gained using specific examples
Resources
The principles of reduction, refinement and replacement in the use of animals in research
Broad learning outcome: Explain the use of animals in research with accurate reference to the 3 Rs and their use in practice
Resources
Drug discovery & development
The multidisciplinary nature of drug discovery and development and the pivotal role played by pharmacology
Broad learning outcome: Describe the role of multiple disciplines in drug discovery and development e.g. chemistry, physiology, pathology. Describe how the integration of knowledge from these disciplines with pharmacology is critical for the drug discovery and development process.
Resources:
- Drug Design and Development by Rostron, C. (2020) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-874931-8
The stages of drug discovery and development
Broad learning outcome: Describe the stages of drug discovery and development including the purpose, importance, design and limitations of each stage
Resources:
Principles of clinical trial design
Broad learning outcome: Describe the key principles underpinning the design of a clinical trial for a new therapeutic entity.
Resources:
How knowledge of pathophysiology can yield insights into drug targets and new therapeutic avenues
Broad learning outcome: Identify suitable targets for possible pharmacological intervention by understanding the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of a disease and limitations of current therapies. Explain how knowledge of disease mechanisms lead to the development of named drugs (rational drug design).
Resources:
Emerging therapeutic avenues
Broad learning outcome: Describe emerging therapeutic avenues for example biologics, nanotechnology, cell and gene therapy, immunological therapies and other medicine modalities.
Resources:
The use of gene modification techniques in drug discovery and development
Broad learning outcome: Explain the fundamentals of why different gene modification techniques are used to modify receptors or proteins within the drug discovery process using examples such as fluorescent/bioluminescent tags, genomic modification with siRNA or CRISPR, and tagged receptors
in vivo.
Resources:
Commercial drug discovery techniques
Broad learning outcome: Describe the key techniques used in successful industrial drug discovery, from target selection, hit discovery, PK/PD and toxicology to commercial impact.
Resources:
How medicine formulation impacts on drug action
Broad learning outcome: Explain how different components of medicine formulation (e.g. solvents, stabilisers, buffers, excipients) alter the route of administration, ADME characteristics and the dose profile (e.g. depot, slow release) to achieve a desired clinical effect
Resources:
- Summary videos of formulations and their properties:
- "Drug Dosage Formulations" tablets, capsules, syrups, injections - YouTube
- Comprehensive explanation of different formulations and their use:
- Drug Formulations - YouTube
- Compendium of drug formulation examples:
- Formulation Examples- JRS Pharma
Regulatory processes to include medicine quality, safety and effectiveness
Broad learning outcome: Explain the purpose and importance of the international medicines regulatory process and list the requirements for making an application to a regulatory body.
Resources:
The challenges associated with developing and assessing the efficacy and safety of new therapeutic approaches
Broad learning outcome: Describe the challenges associated with developing and assessing the efficacy and safety of new therapeutic approaches, including the testing strategies and legal requirements involved
Resources:
- Drug Discovery and Development, Third Edition O'Donnell et al: (2021). CRC Press ISBN 978-1-138-08026-3
The societal impact of the discipline
The ethical principles of research, including clinical trials and animal research (design, implementation and reporting)
Broad learning outcome: Discuss the ethical issues surrounding scientific and medical research including the use of animals, principles of Humane Experimental Technique (3Rs) and the involvement of human participants in clinical trials, describing the associated legal and regulatory requirements.
Resources:
How pharmacology relates to social challenges and public health
Broad learning outcome: Examine how pharmacology can inform and advance understanding of social challenges and public health issues, for example risk/benefit analysis of drugs, social determinants of disease (progression, outcomes and response to treatment), and policy related to public health.
Resources:
The impact of pharmacology on patient care with respect to the safe and effective use of medicines
Broad learning outcome: Appraise the importance of pharmacology in the discovery and development of drugs used to prevent and treat disease, and the impact of clinical pharmacologists on patient care with respect to ensuring the safe and effective use of medications.
Resources:
The various career paths and opportunities afforded by a pharmacology degree
Broad Learning Outcome: Identify the various career paths and professional opportunities afforded by a pharmacology degree including academic, industrial and clinical opportunities
Resources: