PHAR2813: Semester 1, 2025

Overview

This unit of study is intended to provide knowledge in a number of fundamental areas that guide and provide evidence to support the safe, effective and appropriate use of medicines. These fundamental areas of knowledge start with an understanding of the relationship between drugs interacting with target sites in the body and the effect produced (i.e. pharmacodynamic principles) and understanding the physiological and physicochemical factors that influence the movement of drugs around the body and the time course of exposure of body tissues and blood to drugs (i.e. pharmacokinetics). These principles involve developing concepts and mathematical relationships to explain drug activity in patients and to guide appropriate drug dosage regimen selection. To support this, relevant mathematical and statistical principles involving calculus are introduced during this unit of study. This unit will also explore reasons behind variability in response to medicines among different individuals. The effects of disease, other drugs, demographics and the genetic basis for variable response will be introduced. Students are also exposed to the notion that medicines may produce adverse effects (as well as beneficial ones). The mechanisms underlying adverse reactions to drugs and how these are classified are explored as are the principles for detecting and avoiding these unwanted effects. This unit will introduce students to methods that are used to provide evidence of efficacy and safety of different therapeutic options and to define the place in therapy of these options. Principles that underpin evidence-based medicine and the notion of levels of evidence are introduced. Exposure to these principles is intended to develop in students a basic understanding of how to critically evaluate therapeutic options.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Pharmacy
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	PHAR1811 and PHAR1812 and PHAR1822 and (BIOL1XX7 or MBLG1XX1)
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Stephen Hughes, stephen.hughes@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Andrew McLachlan, andrew.mclachlan@sydney.edu.au
	Sophie Stocker, sophie.stocker@sydney.edu.au
	Fanfan Zhou, fanfan.zhou@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Supervised exam ?	Therapeutic Principles Final Examination MCQ and short answer questions covering therapeutics content	50%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Workshop quiz, participation and pre-work 5xworkshop quizcompleted pre-work, and participate in a professional manner	20%	Multiple weeks	80 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Tutorial quiz	Early feedback task Canvas quiz - #earlyfeedbacktask	0%	Week 03	20 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Supervised test ?	Therapeutics Quiz MCQ and SAQ covering therapeutics content	30%	Week 07 Due date: 08 Apr 2025 at 15:00	1 hour
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = AI allowed ? = early feedback task ?

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

The written exam includes both multiple choice questions and short answer questions and will cover the material in PHAR2813 (excluding the maths and statistics topics). You must obtain a minimum of 50% in the final exam to pass the unit of study.
The Therapeutics quiz includes multiple choice questions and will cover all of the material delivered up to the end of Week 6.

Workshop participation - 5 x workshop completed pre-work and participate in a professional manner.

AI tools permitted (Workshop quiz, participation and pre-work)

You are permitted to use automated writing tools and generative artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate your learning and completion of this assignment. Please adhere to the following guidelines:

Do not enter confidential, personal, copyrighted or otherwise sensitive information into any AI tool.
Do not rely on the accuracy of outputs. You remain responsible for your work. This means you must independently verify and edit AI-generated content to ensure the integrity, accuracy, and suitability of the output.
If you use these tools, you must be aware of their limitations, biases, and propensity for fabrication.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission, must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to reference and acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

You are advised to keep copies of the prompts you provided and AI outputs as evidence of your research and writing process. This allows you to produce an accurate acknowledgement of AI use when you submit your work. This can be requested by the unit coordinator if there is any uncertainty about the originality of your work.

No use of AI tools (Final Exam, Therapeutics quiz, Early Fedback task)

The use of automated writing tools and generative artificial intelligence is prohibited in this assessment. You are not allowed to use AI or any other software to create information or answers, to alter your own original writing, or to generate or modify text from other sources. This includes translation software, editing/paraphrasing software and other generative artificial intelligence tools.

Unapproved use is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and may result in penalties, which can include a fail for the assessment.

Supplementary Year assessments: Students may be offered re-assessment of compulsory-to-pass assessments in the Replacement exam periods (RE1/RE2) at the end of the year, as described in the Second Year Rule. For more information see the announcement on the Canvas year site.

Repeating students: Exemption from components (workshop participation, quizzes) will not be granted.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	At HD level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the unit material. A ‘High Distinction’ reflects exceptional achievement and is awarded to students who demonstrate the ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding to produce original solutions for novel or highly complex problems and/or comprehensive critical discussions of theoretical concepts.
Distinction	75 - 84	At DI level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the units material. A ‘Distinction’ reflects excellent achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates an ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding of the subject to produce good solutions for challenging problems and/or a reasonably well-developed critical analysis of theoretical concepts.
Credit	65 - 74	At CR level, a student demonstrates a good command and knowledge of the unit material. A ‘Credit’ reflects solid achievement and is awarded to a student who has a broad general understanding of the units material and can solve routine problems and/ or identify and superficially discuss theoretical concepts.
Pass	50 - 64	At PS level, a student demonstrates proficiency in the material. A ‘Pass’ reflects satisfactory adequately referencing the original source of the work.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Except for supervised exams or in-semester tests, you may use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessments unless expressly prohibited by your unit coordinator.

For exams and in-semester tests, the use of AI and automated writing tools is not allowed unless expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

The icons in the assessment table above indicate whether AI is allowed – whether full AI, or only some AI (the latter is referred to as “AI restricted”). If no icon is shown, AI use is not permitted at all for the task. Refer to Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks for this unit.

Your final submission must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of automated writing tools or generative AI, and any material generated that you include in your final submission must be properly referenced. You may be required to submit generative AI inputs and outputs that you used during your assessment process, or drafts of your original work. Inappropriate use of generative AI is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

The Current Students website provides information on artificial intelligence in assessments. For help on how to correctly acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the  AI in Education Canvas site.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Introduction to therapeutic principles; 2. Evidence based medicine - role of pharmco-epidemiology; 3. Introduction to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 02	1. Monoexponential pharmacokinetics	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 03	1. Multiexponential pharmacokinetics	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 04	1. Pharmacokinetics of constant rate infusions/multiple dosage requirements; 3. Oral pharmacokinetics	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 05	1. Protein binding and drug distribution; 3. Introduction to clearance concepts and Hepatic clearance; 4. Non-linear pharmacokinetics; 5. Bioequivalence	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 05	Therapeutics	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	1. Renal clearance; 2. Metabolite pharmacokinetics; 3. Pharmacodynamics; 4. Quiz preparation session	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 06	Pharmacokinetics of therapeutic proteins	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Therapeutics	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 07	1. Pharmacokinetics of therapeutic proteins; 2. adverse drugs reactions	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 08	1. Introduction to drug interactions	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 09	1. Pharmacogenomics: drug transporters; 2. Pharmacogenomics: drug receptors; 3. Pharmacogenomics: metabolising enzymes	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 10	1. Understanding variability in response to medicines; 2. Therapeutic drug monitoring; 3. Review of mid-semester exam	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 10	Therapeutics	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	1. Toxicokinetics; 2. Use of modelling and simulation in drug development	Lecture (5 hr)
Week 11	Therapeutics	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 12	Therapeutics	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 13	Exam debrief and Q&A	Lecture (2 hr)
Weekly	Learning independently including pre-work, reports and assignments	Independent study (50 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: In accordance with the Bachelor of Pharmacy Course resolutions on Attendance Requirements, students must attend a minimum of 85% tutorials/ workshops (4 of 5 classes) to satisfy attendance requirements for this unit of study.

For more information see Canvas site.

If a tutorial/workshop is missed due to illness or misadventure, students are to submit a special consideration application along with supporting documentation.

Students arriving more than 10 minutes after the commencement of the workshop / tutorial will be marked as unprofessional, which is a component of the class participation and professionalism assessment. Students swapping a class without prior approval from the UoS co-ordinator will be marked as unprofessional.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library Reading List link available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate an understanding of the body as a complex adaptive biological system in relation to biochemistry/biotechnology
LO2. apply a sound understanding of the scientific basis of the use of medicines
LO3. apply appropriate numeracy skills to the solution of pharmacy problems
LO4. demonstrate an understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms of action and the properties drugs display as biologically active molecules in living systems
LO5. demonstrate an understanding of pharmaceutical factors impacting on therapeutic efficacy
LO6. apply an understanding of basic and applied sciences to the management and solution of pharmaceutical and clinical problems, including metabolism and enzymatic degradation of drugs
LO7. demonstrate the ability to learn independently and take responsibility for your own learning.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

NA - teach out UoS with fewer than 8 repeating students expected, USS in 2024 = 87% overall (77% response)

Additional information

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

This unit of study outline was last modified on 11 Feb 2025.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PHAR2813: Therapeutic Principles

Semester 1, 2025 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect