- UCAS course code
- F150
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry
A flexible course with a wide range of modules taught by chemists, pharmacists, biologists and medicinal chemists.
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: F150 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Scholarships available
Accredited course
- Typical A-level offer: AAA including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36 points overall with 6,6,6 at HL, including specific requirements
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £36,000 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
The University of Manchester is committed to attracting and supporting the very best students. We have a focus on nurturing talent and ability and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to study here, regardless of your financial circumstances. For information about scholarships/bursaries/sponsorship please see our undergraduate fees pages and visit the Department website .
Course unit details:
Medicines for major health changes
| Unit code | CHEM20442 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 2 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Offered by | Department of Chemistry |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Lectures by staff from the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry and the Department of Chemistry will discuss:
Part 1 Core Concepts for drug molecules (4 lectures)
Drug discovery pathway, physiochemical properties and interactions of medicines, Lipinski’s rules, formulation of medicines
Part 2 Disease, molecular targets and therapeutics (12 lectures, 4 workshops):
Heart failure (2 lectures, 1 workshop), Anti-bacterials (2 lectures, 1 workshop), Cancer (2 lectures, 1 workshop), Brain issues (3 lectures) and Anti-virals (3 lectures, 1 workshop)
Pre/co-requisites
| Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Chemistry | CHEM10712 | Pre-Requisite | Compulsory |
Aims
The unit aims to:
1. Provide an introduction to key medicinal chemistry concepts, and to major diseases and how they are treated.
2. Discuss the use of antibacterials to treat Gram positive and negative infections
3. Discuss the use of antivirals for the treatment of HIV, HSV and influenza
4. Study the biology of cancer and its treatment
5. Understand the causes and treatment of heart disease
6. Discuss the mechanism of medicines that target the central nervous system
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course students should be able to:
ILO1 Discuss the major diseases and how they are treated.
ILO1.1 Explain the use of antibacterial drugs to treat bacterial illnesses
ILO1.2 Explain the use of antiviral drugs to treat HIV and other viral illnesses;
ILO1.3 Explain the use of anticancer drugs and the underlying biology of cancer;
ILO1.4 Describe the causes, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease;
ILO1.5 Describe the treatment of neurological diseases.
ILO2 Match a disease with treatment and/or prevention.
ILO3 Critically evaluate and apply the principles of the course to specific problems in medicinal chemistry
Syllabus
PART 1. CORE CONCEPTS FOR DRUG MOLECULES
Drug discovery pathway (Sam Butterworth, 1h)
pKa, and logP relevant to drugs (Andrew Leach, 1h)
Bonding relevant to drugs and Lipinski’s rules (Richard Bryce, 1h)
Formulation of drugs (Enas Al-Ani, 1h)
PART 2. DISEASE, MOLECULAR TARGETS AND THERAPEUTICS
i. HEART FAILURE
Heart Failure (biology and therapeutics) (Hala Shokr, 1h)
Cardiovascular therapeutics (Andrew Leach, 1h)
Workshop (Andrew Leach and/or Hala Shokr, 1h)
ii. ANTI-BACTERIALS
Bacterial infections-beta-lactam antibiotics (Richard Bryce, 1h)
Bacterial infections-other antibiotics (Richard Bryce, 1h)
Workshop (Richard Bryce, 1h)
iii. CANCER
Cancer (Katie Finegan, 1h)
Anti-cancer drugs (Sam Butterworth, 1h)
Workshop (Katie Finegan / Sam Butterworth, 1h)
iv. BRAIN ISSUES
Depression (Andrew Leach, 1h)
Parkinsons (Sam Butterworth, 1h)
Meningitis/CNS tumour/CNS drug discovery (Andrew Leach, 1h)
v. ANTI-VIRALS
Anti-viral drugs (John Gardiner, 3h lectures + 1h workshop)
COURSEWORK (20%)
Group presentations (2x 2h)
Knowledge and understanding
16 lectures; 4 workshops; coursework via group presentations: Each group of 4-5 students will be assigned a drug relevant to one of the topics above. Prepare a presentation of 20 minutes (+5 minutes questions) to cover the therapeutic area (include prevalence), drug discovery, drug structure (include functional groups, stereochemistry, conformation, ionisation/
Students will understand the mechanism of action of several categories of antiviral agents. Students will be able to match a disease with treatment and/or prevention
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Concept assimilation
- Problem-solving skills
- Organizational skills
- Ethical behaviour
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Other | 80% |
| Oral assessment/presentation | 20% |
Group Presentation, 20 minutes - 15%
Questions on above presentation, 10 minutes - 5%
Examination Online (Closed Book) 1.5 hrs - 80%
Feedback methods
Feedback is given following the workshop verbally. Detailed individual feedback is given following the course test using Smallvoice.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Assessment written exam | 2 |
| Lectures | 19 |
| Practical classes & workshops | 2 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 77 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| John Gardiner | Unit coordinator |
| Richard Bryce | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
This course is only available to students on the BSc/MChem Chemistry with Medicinal programme.