This course provides an overview over the concepts and processes employed in today's drug discovery and development. It has an introductory character but will also provide more detailed insights employing real life examples. The course combines lectures and interactive elements which require active participation of the students.

The course provides a platform for the investigation, presentation and discussion of a topic with relevance to the field of pharmaceutical sciences. Students work in small groups on a chosen topic and present their work on a one day symposium.

First identification with Pharmaceutical Sciences; motivation for profiling in the Natural Sciences, which are focused on within the first two years as a preparation for the specialized studies; sensitization for the duties and the responsibilities of a person with a federal diploma in Pharmacy; information about job opportunities.

The lecture series takes place at the ETH Hönggerberg and covers a variety of major activities involved in drug discovery: selecting drug targets, technologies used in drug discovery, small, medium and large drugs, objectives of the medicinal chemist, assessing drug safety, principles of personalized medicine, designing clinical trials, how intellectual property is protected, as well as others.

First identification with Pharmaceutical Sciences; motivation for profiling in the Natural Sciences, which are focused on within the first two years as a preparation for the specialized studies; sensitization for the duties and the responsibilities of a person with a federal diploma in Pharmacy; information about job opportunities.

Introduction to the practical work in a chemistry laboratory. The most important manipulations and techniques are treated, as well as the most fundamental chemical reaction types.

The lectures give an overview of selected drugs and the molecular mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects in disease. The historical and modern-day methods by which these drugs were discovered and developed are described. Structure-function relationships and the biophysical rules underlying ligand-target interactions will be discussed and illustrated with examples.

The lectures give an overview of selected drugs and the molecular mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects in disease. The historical and modern-day methods by which these drugs were discovered and developed are described. Structure-function relationships and the biophysical rules underlying ligand-target interactions will be discussed and illustrated with examples.

The course comprises experiments relating to concepts of medicinal chemistry including statistical processing, fitting of experimental data, computer modeling of protein structures, experimental measurement of affinity constants and kinetic dissociation constants for protein ligands. The chemical stability of a drug will be studied. Basic gene cloning and protein expression will be introduced.

This course covers aspects of RNA biology related to the functions of non-coding RNAs as well as their use as drugs to treat diseases.

Introduction to the diversity of current RNA-research at all levels from structural biology to systems biology using mainly model systems like S. cerevisiae (yeast), mammalian cells.

State-of-the-art information on drug discovery and development by experts from academia and industry.