22 | CHEMISTRY AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
BSc Chemistry with
Medicinal Chemistry
BSc Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry focuses on drug
discovery and the interaction of drugs with the human body.
It is ideal if you are considering a career in the pharmaceutical
industry or are particularly fascinated by the chemistry that
underpins how drugs function.
This three-year degree programme
allows students to specialise in the area
of medicinal chemistry in Years 2 and
3 whilst giving a firm foundation in the
fundamentals of chemistry.
Year 1
You will study the same Year 1 modules
as BSc Chemistry (see pages 10–11 for a
detailed description). This is designed to
give you a good grounding in chemistry as
a subject, both theoretically and practically.
Year 2
Here you begin to specialise and build up
your knowledge in medicinal chemistry
alongside improving your knowledge
of chromatographic, analytical and
spectroscopic chemistry, and improving
your synthetic skills. The Medicinal and
Biological Chemistry 1 module builds
upon fundamental topics in organic,
inorganic and physical chemistry,
demonstrating their importance to
medicinal and biological chemistry. It
examines the three dimensional chemical
structure of drug targets, the interaction
of drug molecules with the body and the
process of drug discovery. Principles of
drug design and mechanism of action
are illustrated by modern examples of
rational drug discovery and applied to the
challenge of developing a new drug from
its initial identification and subsequent
development, through to its large-
scale preparation.
In the Industrial Chemistry module
your focus will be on understanding the
international pharmaceutical business
which is the largest manufacturing export
earner for the UK Economy.
During Years 1 and 2 you are encouraged
to choose the following electives which
will improve your knowledge of human
physiology and biochemical processes –
Biology of the Human Organism, and Sex
and Survival.
keele.ac.uk/chemistry