Pharmacology 2060A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Clinical Trial, Pharmacology, Naturopathy
15 May 2018
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Module 1 – Introduction to Pharmacology
1.1 - Introduction
What is pharmacology?
- The word pharmacology is derived from the greek words pharmakon meaning remedy and logos
meaning study.
- Generally pharmacology is considered the study of drugs
The study of drugs can include various aspects, some of which include:
1) How a drug is delivered it’s route of adiistratio
2) How a drug works it’s ehais of atio
3) The therapeutic effect of drugs on patients
4) The adverse effects of drugs on patients
- Pharmacologists are not pharmacists
- Different classifications of therapeutics = different governmental bodies are responsible for their
approval and oversight
Classification of therapeutics
1) Drugs – traditional drugs (i.e. chemical agents)
2) Biologists – antibodies, hormones
3) Natural health products – herbals, vitamins, minerals
Canadian Drug Legislation
- Therapeutic directorate: over sees
traditional drugs (pills and capsules)
- Biologics directorate:
antibodies/hormone therapeutics
- Natural directorate: herbal
preparations/vitamins
- Before a drug reaches the market, there
is a lot of research that takes place to
make sure it is effective and safe
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
What is a drug?
- Typically we think of a drug as a pill or capsule
- Drugs are actually chemicals
- Within every pill are many molecules of a chemical. It is the chemical that actually produces the
pharmacological effect
Naming of drugs
Drugs have two types of names
1. Chemical name: Describes the chemical structure of the molecule. Is used by chemists but not
by many others → not commonly used in pharmacology
2. Generic name: A unique name that identifies a drug. The generic name is the name most often
used in Pharmacology. It is the name that should be used by health care professionals (although
it ofte is’t
3. Trade name: The name assigned by a drug company. It is usually easy to remember and
marketable. The major problem with trade names is many companies may make the same drug,
therefore it may have many different trade names
- Example:
o Chemical name: 7-chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-1,4-benzodiazepin-2(2H)-one
o Generic name: Diazepam
o Trade name(s): Valium – and over 90 other trade names
Approval of Marketed Drugs in Canada
- Approval of Marketed Drugs in Canada takes approximately 15 years
- Drug development moves through several different levels
- Total cost of a new drug can be as high as $800,000,000
- Pre-clinical test/drug discovery: ~6.5 years
- Clinical trial application: responds within 30 days to allow a clinical trial to proceed
- Phase I: ~ 1 year
o Small number of HEALTHY volunteers – not patients
- Phase II: conducted in few numbers of patients
o ~ 2 years
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Phase III: large number of patients with target disease receive the drug
o Monitor side effects when patients receive drugs routinely over long period of time
o ~ 4 years
- NDS: ~ 1.5 years
- Phase IV: after the drug hits the market
o Continues to be monitored by Health Canada
o Continues long after drug has been marketed
o Drugs can be pulled off the market if there is questions about safety e.g. Viox
How we get drugs into people
Routes of administration
1) Enteral: involves GI tract
a. Oral (swallow pill)
b. Rectal (put into rectum and drug dissolves across rectal mucosa into drug stream)
2) Parenteral: does not involve GI tract – involve injections of a drug
a. Intravenous: directly into the blood stream
b. Intramuscular: injected into muscle tissue and dissolves through capillaries into blood
c. Subcutaneous: injected under skin and into blood
3) Topical
a. Creams
b. Patches
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The word pharmacology is derived from the greek words pharmakon meaning remedy and logos meaning study. Generally pharmacology is considered the study of drugs. Different classifications of therapeutics = different governmental bodies are responsible for their approval and oversight. Classification of therapeutics: drugs traditional drugs (i. e. chemical agents, biologists antibodies, hormones, natural health products herbals, vitamins, minerals. Therapeutic directorate: over sees traditional drugs (pills and capsules) Before a drug reaches the market, there is a lot of research that takes place to make sure it is effective and safe. Typically we think of a drug as a pill or capsule. Within every pill are many molecules of a chemical. It is the chemical that actually produces the pharmacological effect. Drugs have two types of names: chemical name: describes the chemical structure of the molecule. Is used by chemists but not by many others not commonly used in pharmacology: generic name: a unique name that identifies a drug.
