Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Description

The course is an accelerated basic-level course covering molecular biology (DNA, cloning, protein expression and purification) and some aspects of the discovery, production and use of biotherapeutics. It focuses on antibody-based therapeutics produced in bacterial hosts. The goals of the course are to: Provide students with a broad overview of the different stages of biotherapeutic drug development and monitoring, how they are interlinked, and how they differ from chemically-synthesised small molecule therapeutics. Provide students with detailed knowledge on the cloning and expression of biotherapeutics and on the common challenges in their production. Introduce students to the most common techniques used in biotherapeutic discovery and development. Enable students to compare between techniques and approaches, as well as design viable routes for biotherapeutic development. Enable students to critically analyse primary research and to present findings to a lay audience.