Mechanisms of Drug Actions
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this Biological Engineering course on how drugs are discovered and how they work in the body. The first half covers the drug discovery pipeline, then moves through pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, metabolism, and the biochemical mechanisms behind both therapeutic effects and toxicity. The second half shifts to application, using case studies and discussion of primary literature to examine specific drugs, drug classes, and therapeutic targets in current use. Materials include the course syllabus, readings, and assignments as published by MIT OpenCourseWare, free to access with no enrollment or certificate fee. The course is pitched at an advanced level, suited to students with a background in biology or chemistry who want to understand the science underlying pharmaceutical development rather than just clinical use of medications.