Books

The How the Drug Discovery Industry Works course is designed to cover the most important aspects of biopharmaceutical R&D within a manageable time period. However, it is impossible to cover the relevant subjects in great depth because of time limitations and also because of the delegates’ varying levels of prior knowledge. This has prompted PharmaGuide’s trainer Edward D. Zanders to address this problem in the form of two books published by Springer Nature as described below and in the publisher’s description:
 
Twenty-first Century Drug Discovery-an Expanding Landscape (Springer Nature link) follows on from the author’s previous book The Science and Business of Drug Discovery-Demystifying the Jargon published by Springer as a second edition in 2020 (see below). While many of the key scientific and commercial features of drug discovery described in the latter are essentially unchanged since publication, the underlying science has advanced rapidly thereby presenting a broad landscape of opportunities for biopharmaceutical discovery in the twenty-first century and beyond. However, these wide-ranging and complex discovery opportunities are difficult to convey in a short period of time. This book overcomes the problem by giving readers time to study the relevant material at their leisure. Starting with a short overview of the current technical and commercial background to drug discovery and development, the book focuses on the discovery of novel targets and therapeutic agents. The latter are no longer just small molecules, but include engineered proteins, microbes and immune cells created as a result of advances in among others, molecular cell biology and computational methods. These discovery activities are presented as part of a group of systems under the headings of Genetics, Cell Biology, Microbiome, Immune and Nervous Systems, none of which are mutually exclusive and all of which depend upon lab-based and computational technologies. These technologies are covered in some detail, highlighting in particular, single molecule and cell analysis, selective drug target degradation and machine learning.  

The Science and Business of Drug Discovery-demystifying the jargon (Springer Nature link) is written for those who want to learn about the biopharmaceutical industry and its products whatever their level of technical knowledge. Its aim is to demystify the jargon used in drug development, but in a way that avoids over simplification and the resulting loss of key information. Each of the twenty chapters is illustrated with figures and tables which clarify some of the more technical points being made. Also included is a drug discovery case history which draws the relevant material together into a single chapter. In recognizing that it is difficult to navigate through the many external resources dealing with drug development, the book has been written to guide the reader towards the most appropriate information sources, including those listed in the two appendices.

The following topics are covered:

Different types of drugs: from small molecules to stem cells
Background to chemistry of small and large molecules
Historical background to drug discovery, pharmacology and biotechnology
The drug discovery pipeline: from target discovery to marketed medicine
Commercial aspects of drug discovery
Challenges to the biopharmaceutical industry and its responses
Material of specific interest to technology transfer executives, recruiters and pharmaceutical translators  
 
The material used for the now discontinued Presentation Skills for Scientists course is available in  Presentation Skills for Scientists-a Practical Guide by Edward Zanders and Lindsay MacLeod. The second edition is published by Cambridge University Press (CUP link) and summarised below:

Focuses on practical tips for preparation and delivery without dwelling on theory, giving the busy reader quick access to the most useful points   
 
Based on the authors' more than ten years of experience in delivering practical presentation skills training to scientists, it provides a succinct guide delivered in a fresh, friendly manner and with humour   
 
Supplementary video clips illustrate exercises to control nerves and improve delivery, providing the reader with the tools to enhance their performance