Pharmacology the study of drugs
• How a drug is delivered its route of administration
• How a drug works its mechanism of action
• The therapeutic effect of drugs on patients
• The adverse effects of drugs on pati
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Pharmacology the study of drugs
• How a drug is delivered its route of administration
• How a drug works its mechanism of action
• The therapeutic effect of drugs on patients
• The adverse effects of drugs on patients Classification of therapeutics
• Drugs traditional drugs
o Chemical agents
▪ pills
▪ capsules
▪ tablets
• Biologics recent advances in technology have allowed for these
o Antibodies, hormones
• Natural health products herbals, vitamins, minerals Canadian Drug Legislation
• Therapeutic Products Directorate
o involved with the approval of typical drugs
• Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate
o Involved in the approval of hormone and antibody therapies
• Natural health products directorate
o Involved with the approval of natural drug therapies Drugs have to think of drugs as chemicals
• Naming
o chemical names generally not used in pharmacology
▪ describes the chemical structure of the molecule
▪ used by chemist
o generic names pharmacologist use this name
▪ unique name that identifies a drug
▪ the name that should be used by health care professionals
o trade names name assigned by a drug company
▪ easy to remember and marketable
▪ problem many companies may make the same drug therefore it may have many different trade names
• Drug development
o approval of marketed drugs in Canada takes approx. 15 years
o drug development moves through several different levels
o the total cost of a new drug can be as high as $800,000,000
o Preclinical testing most extensive and longest step in the process
▪ Can take up to 6.5 years to complete
o Clinical trial application involves a lot of paper work detailing all pre-clinical trials
▪ Health Canada responds within 30 days of receipt to
allow a clinical trial to proceed
o Phase I Clinical trial
▪ Health volunteers used NOT PATIENTS
▪ Takes approx. 1 year to complete
o Phase II CT
▪ Conducted in relatively few numbers in patients
▪ Patients monitored to see if they have any side effects
▪ Takes approx. 2 years to complete
o Phase III CT
▪ Very important to verify therapeutic effectiveness and monitor patients for long term side effects from the drug
▪ Takes approx. 4 years to complete
▪ Involves a large amount of patients with the target disorder/illness
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