Opportunities in Chemistry,

with the spotlight on the

journey of drug molecules!

VIPAN KUMAR, PH.D

Chemistry department

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 Department of Chemistry,
GNDU
Courses offered

After 10+2 M.Sc. (FYIP)

After six • B.Sc. Chemistry

semesters

After eight • B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry (with or without research)

semesters

After ten • M.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry

semesters

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 Courses offered

After B.Sc.

M.Sc. Applied
M.Sc. Chemistry Chemistry
(Pharmaceuticals)

After two semesters After two semesters

PG Diploma in Applied
PG Diploma in Chemistry Chemistry

After four semesters After four semesters

M.Sc. Applied Chemistry

M.Sc. Chemistry
(Pharmaceuticals)

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 Competitive exams and Scholarships

BARC-OCES CSIR-National Eligibility

(scientific officer-C) Test (NET-JRF) Ph.D
 INSPIRE scholarship
DRDO (scientist/Chemical Graduate Aptitude Test in (Kishore Vaigyanik
Analyst) Engineering (GATE)
Protsahan Yojana)

Geological Survey of India IIT-JAM (to pursue M.Sc. or  Rajiv Gandhi

(GSI)-Geochemist integrated Ph.D. programs) National Fellowship

Indian Council of Forestry

Indian Institute of Science  Maulana Azad
Research and Education
(ICFRE)-Scientist B (IISc) National Fellowship
Chemistry  Women Scientists
RRB (Railway Recruitment National Institute of
Board) Exams Pharmaceutical Education Schemes (WoS-A,
and Research (NIPER)-JEE WoS-B and WoS-C)
State-level Public Service Delhi University Entrance
Commission (PSC) Exams Test (DUET)

State Eligibility Test Graduate Record

(SET) exam Examination (GRE)

UPSC (Union Public

Service Commission) IELTS/TOEFL
Exams

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 Academia and Education Sector

• Ph.D. and Academia: Many M.Sc graduates opt to pursue a Ph.D. in

Chemistry to become experts in a specific area. A Ph.D. opens up
opportunities to work as a professor, or researcher in universities and
research institutions.

• Apply for Teaching Positions: Once you qualify for the TET exam,
you can apply for teaching positions in government schools and some
private schools.

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 Pharmaceutical and Chemical
Industries

Pharmaceutical Research Petrochemical and

Forensic Chemistry Oil Industry

Cosmetics and
Personal Care
Quality Control Research
and Quality
Assurance

Valery Legasov
Russian Inorganic Chemist

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 Scientific writers

Science Writer/Journalist: Science writers and journalists cover scientific news and developments, translating
complex scientific research into accessible and engaging articles for the general public. They may work for
newspapers, magazines, science communication platforms, or online publications.

Medical Writer: Medical writers specialize in creating scientific content related to medical and pharmaceutical
topics, such as drug development, clinical trials, and medical publications. They often work for pharmaceutical
companies, medical communications agencies, or research organizations.
Research Publication Writer: Some organizations and research institutions hire writers to help researchers
draft and edit research papers, scientific manuscripts, and grant proposals.

Grant Proposal Writer: Grant proposal writers help researchers and organizations write
persuasive grant proposals to secure funding for scientific research projects

Science Communication Specialist: Science communication specialists work on developing

science communication strategies, managing science-related content, and engaging with the
public through various media platforms

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 Being a Chemistry Graduate in India

• Chemical Knowledge: Comprehensive understanding of chemical principles,

reactions, and interactions at the molecular level

• Laboratory Skills: Proficiency in conducting experiments, using laboratory

equipment, and analyzing data accurately and safely

• Analytical Skills: Strong ability to interpret data, draw conclusions, and solve
complex problems through analytical methods

• Research and Problem-Solving: Experience in conducting research, formulating

hypotheses, and designing experiments to explore new scientific concepts

• Communication: Effective communication of scientific findings and ideas

through written reports, presentations, and discussions.

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 Drug

Drugs are the molecules used as medicines or as components in medicines to diagnose, cure, mitigate, or
prevent disease. The drug is most commonly an organic small molecule that activates or inhibits the
function of a bio-molecule such as a protein (receptor or enzyme), which in turn results in a therapeutic
benefit to the patient.

Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies (Nature
Inspired) or by serendipitous discovery.

Nature Inspired

Quinine Morphine Codeine Cocaine

 SERENDIPITIOUS DISCOVERY

Penicillin

One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I
certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer. But I
suppose that was exactly what I did.
— Alexander Fleming

Aspartame
Aspartame was invented in 1965 by James M. Schlatter as part of research into antiulcer drugs. He discovered
the sweetness completely by accident, after licking it off his finger, against work safety regulations.
 Rational Drug Discovery or Invention
Drug Design An inventive process of finding new medications based on the knowledge of a biological target.
Identify a disease
Target Identification
• Protein/Enzyme
• Pathogens
Design and Synthesize new chemical entities (NCEs)
In vitro screening
Potential Hit

The process of screening, analyzing, and testing chemical compounds should be further
enhanced by using animal models (In vivo screening).

Fruit Flies White Mice

Affordable Mammal-genetically closer to humans
Easy to scale Long reproductive cycle
Lack comparable genetics to humans Delays the drug discovery process
 Zebra fish

• Small and robust.

• Cheaper to maintain than mice.
• Produce hundreds of offspring at weekly intervals.
• Zebra fish embryos are nearly transparent which allows researchers to easily examine the development of
internal structures.
• Zebra fish have a similar genetic structure to humans. They share 70% of genes with us.
• 84% of genes known to be associated with human disease have a zebra fish counterpart.

Dose response curve: tested over a range of concentrations to

determine the concentration that results in half maximal binding or
activity (IC50 or EC50 values).

A ‘HIT’ molecule is a compound which has the desired activity in biological assays.
 Hit to Lead optimization
Lipinski rule of five: Most well-known guideline for predicting Drug Like Properties for an orally
active drug.
 No more than 5 hydrogen bond donors (the total number of NH and OH )
 No more than 10 hydrogen bond acceptors (all N, O, F atoms)
 A molecular mass less than 500 daltons
 Partition coefficient (log P) that does not exceed 5
 less than 5 rotatable bonds

Hydrogen bond donor : 1

Hydrogen bond acceptor : 5
Molecular weight : 345
Lipophilicity (log P) : 2.41

Holy grail of medicinal chemistry??

This "rule of 5" has been highly influential, but only about 50 % of orally administered new chemical
entities actually obey it.

Rifampin-Antimycobacterial drug
 Lead modification
Lead modification: The structure of the lead compound is, then, modified by synthesis to amplify the desired activity
and to minimize or eliminate the unwanted properties to a point where a drug candidate, a compound worthy of
extensive animal testing and pharmacological studies, is identified, and then a clinical drug, a compound ready for
clinical trials, is developed.
Potency

 Potency refers to the strength of the biological effect, or how much of the compound is required to achieve a
defined level of effectiveness.
 Administering less drug is desirable from a number of viewpoints, including
• Minimizing the cost per dose of the drug.
• Convenience of administration (avoiding large number of pills).
• Probability of side-effects decreases.

Selectivity
The therapeutic index or Selectivity index is a quantitative measurement of the safety of a drug. It is a comparison of
the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes the therapeutic effect to the amount that causes toxicity.
 Drug Development

Drug development normally refers to the process of taking a compound that has been identified from the drug
invention process through the subsequent steps necessary to bring it to market.

Preclinical Development
(stage between drug discovery and clinical development)
 Development of synthetic processes that will enable the compound to be manufactured in
reproducible purity on large (multikilogram) scale.
 Development of a formulation
 Toxicity testing in animals under conditions prescribed by the regulatory authorities (FDA in the US;
EMA in Europe; MCI in India)
 Investigational New Drug (IND) application which summarizes up to preclinical development
research done to date is submitted

Intellectual Property Rights

 Discovering a new drug and bringing it to market is an exceptionally expensive endeavor, with some cost
estimates ranging from $1.2–2.0 billion for each successful drug.
 The patent gives the patent holder the legal means to prevent others from making, selling, or importing the
drug, effectively granting the holder a monopoly, for a limited period of time, on selling the drug.
Intellectual Property
and Patenting

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 Clinical Development (Human Clinical Trials)

Phase 0 Clinical Trials

 Human microdosing studies
 Administration of single sub-therapeutic doses of the study drug to a small number of subjects (10 to 15) to
gather preliminary data on the agent's ADME.
 No data on safety or efficacy.
 They enable go/no-go decisions based on relevant human models instead of relying on animal data.

Phase 1 Clinical Trials

 Evaluates the safety, tolerability (dosage levels and side effects), pharmacokinetics and pharmacological
effects about 20 individuals.
 Phase I trials most often include healthy volunteers. However, there are some circumstances when clinical
patients are used, such as patients who have terminal cancer or HIV and the treatment is likely to make
healthy individuals ill.
 Single ascending dose studies: Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD)
Phase 2 assesses the effectiveness of the drug, determines side effects and other safety aspects, and clarifies the
dosing regimen in a few hundred diseased patients.
• More focused on the therapeutic efficacy in a particular patient population to establish whether or not the drug
may ultimately benefit patients.
• Typically lasts from several months to 2 years.

Phase 3 is a larger trial with several thousand patients that establishes the efficacy of the drug, monitors adverse
reactions from long-term use.
• Compare the drug to similar drugs already on the market.
• Typically lasts 1–4 years.

Regulatory Approval to Market the Drug

Post-marketing surveillance activities are often referred to as Phase 4 studies because this is when statistically
insignificant effects in clinical trials can become significant with a large and varied patient population.
thankyou