ALS 438
Clinical Pharmacology II

The reason for all corporate pharmaceutical activity is ultimately to put pharmacological agents into clinical practice.  Careers in the pharmaceutical industry require a basic understanding of clinical pharmacology.  The goal of this course is to provide a framework for the basic understanding of the major drug classes and disease categories.  Some of the subjects addressed are: criteria physicians use in selecting various agents for a given disorder, how side effects are assessed and dealt with, and how issues of cost and compliance are handled.  The course will provide overviews of disease categories, issues of cost, marketing, and the clinical trial process.

The first semester will consist of an introduction to the basics of academic clinical pharmacology, the most common disease categories and drugs, and how physicians view drug testing and marketing.  The second semester will survey the remaining major disease categories and how drugs fit into treatment regimens.

Throughout the course the emphasis will be on a concepts  rather than individual drug details.  The course attempts to provide a general framework on which to fit future specialized knowledge encountered during a career in the various biomedical fields.

By the end of the course students will be familiar with:

1. Basic pathophysiology of the most common diseases
2. Basic properties of the major drug classes
3. Considerations in selecting a type of therapy
4. Assessment of drug benefits and risks
5. Cost as an issue
6. Some prominent pharmaceutical successes and failures