Design and Implementation of an Interdisciplinary Elective Course in Drug Discovery, Development, and Commercialization

Abstract

Objective: To describe the design and implementation of an elective course in drug discovery, development, and commercialization for pharmacy, medical, biomedical graduate, business, and law students. Case Study: This course included didactic lectures, student group discussions, a longitudinal assignment, and a question and answer panel session. A 9-item instrument using a 5-point response scale was used for course evaluation. The longitudinal assignment was the creation and presentation of a product lifecycle strategic plan (PLSP). Respondents rated ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ in the course providing useful information on drug discovery (39% and 53%), drug development (39% and 60%), and drug commercialization (33% and 60%). The majority of student-reported overall understanding of the drug discovery and drug development process was rated ‘very good’ (49% and 46%), while the drug commercialization process was rated ‘good’ (46%). Conclusions: An elective course on drug discovery, development, and commercialization included enrollment of students with diverse educational training. The course provided useful information and improved overall student understanding.

Keywords

• Drug discovery
• drug development and drug commercialization