PHARMACY 750 : Pharmaceutical Formulation

Medical and Health Sciences

2023 Semester One (1233) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Physiological and physicochemical factors in drug delivery and formulation of pharmaceutical products. Consideration of both traditional (e.g., solutions, semi-solids, solids, aerosols) and novel (e.g., liposomal) drug delivery systems based on the experimental literature.

Course Overview

This postgraduate course is intended to provide students with a strong background knowledge (biological and pharmaceutical sciences) needed for the design and development of pharmaceutical dosage forms ranging from conventional formulations to novel drug delivery systems. 

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Course Contacts


The course coordinator/Director (TBC, will be available on Canvas in 2023) is the first point of contact for everything related to this course. If you have questions before the Semester commences, please email Pharmacy Reception:  enquiries2@uoa.auckland.ac.nz  

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Master of Health Sciences

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a working knowledge of various types of dosage forms including their design and composition, and the product development procedures for selected products; (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
  2. Describe the biological and physicochemical factors affecting the development and application of a variety of dosage forms; (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
  3. Demonstrate a working knowledge of biopharmaceutics and how this influences formulation design; (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.2 and 6.1)
  4. Have an insight into the advances and applications of novel drug delivery systems and the rationale for novel drug delivery system design. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Assignments 50% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 50% Individual Examination
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Assignments
Final Exam

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 30-point course and students are expected to spend 20 hours per week involved in a 30-point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you will have 6-8 hours of lectures each week for 9 weeks, additionally at least 14 hours each week on reading and digesting the content as well as working on assignments or exam preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

  • Attendance is required at scheduled activities including all lectures and final exam to complete the components of the course.
  • Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including reading materials will be available on Canvas.
  • The on-campus activities for the course are scheduled as one full-day per week during the semester. 

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Course materials (Course Outline, lecture notes, lecture recordings) are made available in the course website located in the University’s learning platform, CANVAS.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The course was not offered in 2022 due to the COVID travel restrictions as about half of the students taking this course are usually international students. Course evaluations over the past years have been very positive, therefore, we do not plan to make significant changes to the course.   As always, each of our individual lecturers will endeavor to maintain high quality of teaching and provide students with the best learning experience.   

Other Information

  • Communication will be made mainly via Canvas. Students are expected to keep updated via Canvas
  • For further communication, it is required to use your University-provided e-mail address, not Gmail etc,  and use proper format/language to avoid messages being trapped in staff’s junk mails.   

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

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Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

The delivery mode may change depending on COVID restrictions. Any changes will be communicated through Canvas.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.