Teaching biologics design using molecular modeling and simulations

Teaching chemistry and biology students about biologics design remains challenging despite its increasing importance in pharmaceutical development. Monoclonal antibodies, commonly called mAbs, are the most popular biologics. They have been developed into drugs to treat various diseases in the past d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biochemistry and molecular biology education 2024-05, Vol.52 (3), p.299-310
Main Authors: Phillips, Andrew, Srinivas, Anusha, Prentoska, Ilina, O'Dea, Margaret, Kustrup, Matthew, Hurley, Sarah, Bruno, Savannah, Nguyen, Vy, Lai, Pin‐Kuang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological products
biologics
computers in research and teaching
curriculum development
Educational Technology
excipients
Molecular modelling
Monoclonal antibodies
Organic Chemistry
Pharmaceuticals
protein design
Science Instruction
Students
Teaching
Universities
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Summary:Teaching chemistry and biology students about biologics design remains challenging despite its increasing importance in pharmaceutical development. Monoclonal antibodies, commonly called mAbs, are the most popular biologics. They have been developed into drugs to treat various diseases in the past decades. Multiple challenges exist for designing proper formulations to stabilize mAbs, such as preventing aggregation and mitigating viscosity. Molecular modeling and simulations can improve pharmaceutical products by examining the interactions between mAbs and other compounds, such as excipients. To introduce students to biopharmaceuticals, eight students at the Stevens Institute of Technology participated in a semester‐long course to learn the challenges of pharmaceutical development and different computational skills to study biologics design. The students started with a limited background in this field. Throughout one semester, they were introduced to various literature and software tools for modeling antibodies and studying their interactions with excipients. This paper aims to develop a course structure to be replicated at other universities and institutions to teach biopharmaceutical development to students.
ISSN:1470-8175
1539-3429
DOI:10.1002/bmb.21813