BIOPHARMACY OBJECTIVES

You must know
In order for pharmacists to function as valuable and efficient members of the health profession it is essential that they become experts in rational drug therapy and therefore it is vital that they have an above average knowledge of the biopharmaceutical principles of optimal drug therapy. Therefore, the objective of this course is to introduce students to the basic concepts and applications of biopharmaceutics so that they will one day be able to advise medical practitioners and patients on; the correct use of drugs, dosage quantity, form of dosage, period of drug therapy, and dosage intervals. They should also be able to give advise to other members of the medical profession when their patients are having problems with their drug therapy. Lastly, an effective pharmacist should be able to design drug delivery systems that ensure that the drug arrives in an optimal form at the site of action with minimal side effects.

At the end of this course students must know;

(1) Physiological and anatomical aspects involved in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.

(2) Basic mechanisms and concepts of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.

(3) Basic mathematical principles involved in pharmacokinetic calculations.

(4) Examples of drugs that are applicable to any of the concepts explained in the answers of their examinations. Examples can be obtained during lectures and from the references.

(5) How to predict the fate of drugs in the body given all the physiological, chemical and physical parameters of the drug and the patient.

WARNING:
THE NOTES THAT YOU ARE SUPPLIED WITH ARE ONLY CORE NOTES. IF YOU WANT TO PASS THIS COURSE THEN YOU NEED TO GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM;

(1) LECTURES,

(2) THE RECOMMENDED READING, AS WELL AS,

(3) JOURNAL REFERENCES.

THE NOTES HERE ARE NOT ENOUGH TO PASS.

For example, under the section of Drug Elimination, there is a statement that says, "Urine pH also influences the fraction of drug excreted unchanged". The notes do not explain how or why the pH influences the fraction of drug excreted unchanged. Nor does it give any examples of how a change in pH by means of coadministering buffers with drugs influences the fraction of drug excreted unchanged.