Victorian College of Pharmacy Research
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal chemistry is the application of the principles and techniques of chemistry to the discovery and development of compounds for the prevention, treatment or cure of disease. This process can be thought of as a feedback cycle of design, synthesis and biological testing with the objective of optimizing the potency, selectivity and bioavailability while minimizing side-effects.
Included as part of medicinal chemistry is the study of existing drugs, their biological properties and structure-activity relationships, as well as the study, identification, and synthesis of the metabolic products of these drugs and related compounds. Of prime importance is the interpretation at the molecular level of the mode of action of biologically active compounds at receptors and enzymes (i.e. drug‑receptor interactions).
The end result of a medicinal chemistry program is a therapeutic product specific for a disease state or biochemical target. Successful examples in which the Faculty has been involved include the development of RelenzaTM for the treatment of influenza and OZ277, currently in clinical trials for the treatment of malaria.
Medicinal Chemistry activities
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