This module introduces students to the science of pharmaceutics. Pharmaceutics encompasses a wide range of subjects associated with converting a drug into a medicine and is concerned with the scientific and technological aspects of the design and manufacture of dosage forms. There are three main concerns when designing a dosage form namely: the physicochemical properties of the drug, biophysical considerations and the patient’s disease state. These concerns inform all the material encountered in this module. The aim of the module is to provide a scientific basis for the understanding of the formulation and manufacture of safe and effective medicines, both sterile and non-sterile, with particular emphasis on liquid and semi-solid systems. The module incorporates an appreciation of the routes available for the administration of a drug to a patient, the physicochemical aspects of drugs, formulations and dosage forms, and the considerations pertinent to manufacture in practice. Students will be introduced to the practical aspects of producing liquid and semi-solid pharmaceutical formulations and will demonstrate competency in the safe and professional preparation of such dosage forms. Sterile pharmaceutical products and radiopharmaceuticals, which have additional formulation and manufacturing considerations, will also be covered.

The module is organized into two broad and inter-related themes: i) the formulation and preparation of liquid and semi-solid dosage forms and ii) sterile pharmaceutical products and radiopharmaceuticals. The module begins with an introduction to the science of formulation and dosage form design and considerations of how the formulator can ensure that the right amount of drug reaches the right site in the body at the right time. The module then goes on to consider the science underpinning the formulation and preparation of the various types of liquid and semi-solid dosage forms, always in the context of their use by patients. Certain pharmaceutical products, for instance injections, bypass the body’s natural defence mechanisms against infections. The majority of these products are liquids and the special precautions necessary in their formulation and manufacture are considered in the second theme. The themes run within the two semesters, and a more detailed outline of the course is outlined in the module syllabus section.