Pharmaceutics

Pharmaceutics is a multi-disciplinary subject that involves the formulation, manufacture and evaluation of dosage forms for effective delivery of medicines (drugs) and can also be described as the "Science of Dosage form Design". When dosage forms are formulated correctly, they can optimize the delivery of a drug to the desired site in the body via specific routes of drug administration.  Furthermore, specialised drug delivery systems can be designed to control drug release to provide the correct concentration of the drug in the blood after administration for the desired period of time. It further explores how the physical and chemical properties of a drug, the dosage form and physiological properties can influence processes such as drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. It essentially bridges the gap between drug discovery and clinical application by ensuring the complete drug dose is effectively delivered to the site of action in the body. 

Core areas of Pharmaceutics:

  • Pharmaceutical calculations:  Applying basic mathematic principles such as ratios, proportions, dilutions, alligations and unit conversions to ensure the accurate and safe preparation, mixing as well as the correct dose to be administered to a patient.
  • Physical Pharmacy:  Applying physics and chemistry to study the physicochemical properties of drugs such as solubility, stability and interactions.
  • Biopharmaceutics:  Understanding how the physicochemical properties of drugs and dosage forms affect the rate and extent of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. 
  • Formulation and Dosage Form Design:  Combining the drug with suitable excipients to develop and manufacture a dosage form as well as evaluation thereof for quality assurance.  Dosage forms cover a large variety of formulations for administration by different routes of drug administration including sterile injectables, solid dosage forms, liquid dosage forms and semi-solid dosage forms amongst many others.
  • Pharmaceutical Technology/Manufacturing:  The industrial process of manufacturing medicinal products consisting of a specific dosage form on a large scale as well as registration of medicines at the regulatory authority.  It also entails implementation of Quality Management Systems and Quality Control Systems during the manufacture, packaging, labelling and evaluation of pharmaceutical products.

Pharmaceutics is the science of transforming active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into safe, effective, and usable medicines.  To put it simple, this includes the formulation of tablets, capsules, suspensions, patches, injections and other specialised medicine products.

In simple terms, it focuses on how to design, formulate, and manufacture medicines so that they deliver the intended therapeutic effect when taken by a patient. This includes ensuring the drug (API) is:

  • Released at the right time and biological site
  • Properly absorbed in the body
  • Safe and stable for use
  • Manufactured to high quality standards—whether in small batches or large-scale production

In the context of pharmacy, Pharmaceutics is a diverse and dynamic field that combines science and technology to ensure that medicines are not only effective but also convenient and reliable for patient use.

List of Pharmaceutics modules & lecturers

 

Semester 1

Semester 2

Year 1

 

Pharmaceutical calculations (FCAG122 – fundamental mathematics and arithmetic principles relevant to pharmacy

  • Prof Sias Hamman (co-ordinator)

Year 2

Pharmaceutics IA (FMSG 212 – physico-chemical principles as applicable within the field of pharmaceutics)

  • Dr Anja Haasbroek-Pheiffer (co-ordinator)

Pharmaceutics IB (FMSG 223 –Bioavailability, biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics during dosage form design and dispensing)

  • Prof Dewald Steyn (co-ordinator)

Year 3

Pharmaceutics IIA (FMSG 312 – Pharmaceutical microbiological principles, theories and procedures applicable to parenteral and other dosage forms including the different methods of sterilization and aseptic technique relevant to the production and handling of sterile dosage forms)

  • Dr Liezl Badenhorst (co-ordinator)

Pharmaceutics IIB (FMSG 322 – Formulation principles, dosage form design and development, routes of drug administration and delivery, stability, quality assurance, good manufacturing practices and quality control)

  • Prof Joe Viljoen (co-ordinator)

Year 4

Pharmaceutics IIIA (FMSG 412 – integrate and apply knowledge of product design and formulation including the manufacturing and packaging of medicines according to Good Manufacturing Practices, implement and understand Quality Management Systems and Quality Control Systems for the manufacture, packaging, labelling and evaluation of pharmaceutical products on and industrial level)

  • Prof Marius Brits (co-ordinator)