Preformulation Studies In Pharmaceutical Product Development

Preformulation is a branch of pharmaceutical sciences that utilize biopharmaceutical principles in the determination of physicochemical properties of drug substance. It is the first step in the rational development of dosage forms of a drug substance. It can be defined as an investigation of physical and chemical properties of a drug substance alone and when combined with excipients.

Preformulation studies constitute the delicate connection between the two major groups of scientists that is those at the drug discovery end and those at the drug delivery end. It is for the drug discovery group to bring out a novel molecule. In drug discovery, the scientists identifies interesting drug compounds, drug target and delivery mechanism with the potential for development into products,characterize compound and their targets and also provide fundamental information on target biological system.

Drug discovery involve synthesis and extraction which is the process of identifying new molecules. After that, the chemical entity discovered enter biological screening and pharmacological testing to explore the pharmacological activity and therapeutic potential of compounds. Then the drug enter preclinical testing which involve toxicology and safety testing to determine the potential risk a compound poses to humans and the environment,involve use of animals, tissue culture or other test system. Preclinical drug development provide data on the safety and efficacy of the product.

Subsequently, the drug enter preformulation studies. The goals of preformulation studies are to choose correct form of drug substance, evaluate physical properties and generate a thorough understanding of the material’s stability under various conditions, leading to optimal drug delivery system.Steps in preformulation process of pharmaceutical research are evaluating stability, physicochemical properties, mechanical properties, dissolution properties, plasma protein binding and excipients compatibility.

In preformulation process,stability test is done to evaluate drug stability at elevated temperature,on exposure to light and humidity for solid state while for solution, the drug is tested in term of its stability in solvent, stability at varying pH range and also stability to the light. This stabilty data will be used in designing dosage form or formulation which is said to be stable and meet expected specification for identifying, purity, quality and strength throughout their defined storage period at specific storage condition.

Physicochemical properties of drugs are also evaluated such as the molecular structure and weight, color, odour, particle size,shape and cristallinity as well as melting point. Thermal analysis profile of drug is determined to measure the changes in chemical and physical properties of a sample as a function of temperature and the test employ thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry or differential thermal analysis method.

Besides that, the hygroscopic potential of drug and the absorbance spectra using UV and IR is also determined. Next the solubility profile of drug is established as solubility is important for drug dissolution and subsequent absorption. It will affect the bioavailabilty of dosage form besides the ionisation constant and partition coefficient. The last aspect of physichochemical properties is polymorphism. Polymorphism is the ability of solid material to exist in more than one crystalline structure. Polymorphism will affect the stability of drug as drug with different polymorph has different physical and chemical properties and this will cause change in solubility and affect bioavailability. Many physicochemical properties change with the change in internal structure for example melting point, hardness, optical density, crystal shape, vapor pressure and et cetera.

After physicochemical properties, mechanical properties of drug is also determined such as the bulk density, compressibility and powder flow. This data will aid in designing solid dosage form later on in formulation aspect. Other than thats,steps in preformulation are to studies the dissolution properties, plasma protein binding and excipient compatibility of the drug. Dissolution properties will influence the bioavailability of drug while excipient compatibility study is crucial to aid the formulation scientist to determine the best excipients to be used in the formulation of drug to ensure the stability of the finished product.

Formulation group has the task to make the drug into deliverable form with the aid of the data provided by the preformulation scientists. Drug formulation involve the combination of drug substance or active ingredients with drugs excipients to get the desired drug products. Drug excipients are any inactive ingredient that is intentionally added to therapeutic product but not intended to exert therapeutic effects at the intended dosage. It is added to aid drug manufacturing process and to maintain drug stability. The desired drug product is then scaled up to be produced in large quantity.

The drug products then enter phase I,II and III clinical trials to astablish its safety, effectiveness, side effects,toxicity and the most appropriate dosage regimen by testing it in healthy volunteers and patient with the disorder being studied but before the drug is tested in human, the manufacturer must obtain and Investigational New Drug (IND) designation from FDA and the application is based on pre-clinical test data conducted in animal.. After the drug product has passed stage III clinical trial, the drug need to be registered through New Drug Application (NDA) or Biologics License Application.

Once the drug is approved and registered by FDA, it can be marketed but the clinical trial still continue in stage IV or post-marketing surveillance to identify any problems that did not occur in phase I,II or III, such as those that take a long time to appear and those that rarely occur.

Poyo or confident?

Yesterday I presented my ko-k activity and it was my second time presenting in Malay  in this 3 years of my study. I realise that it was very difficult to present in Malay compared to English, it seems to be difficult to find the correct word and speak proper Malay at the same time, if I could present in my Northern accent then it would have been a different story. Then I suddenly realised, do I speak English better than Malay nowadays? Haha. Poyo tak? Haha.

p/s: This is not 'poyo'. I would rather call it high self esteem! :P

Learn to dance in the rain

Many a time we wait for the time to pass to solve the problem but like it or not, our life has been charted with more problems to come after the existing one. So instead of waiting for the storm to pass, its better to learn how to dance in the rain. If you can find a path with no obstacle, it probably does'nt lead anywhere.

p/s: my friend used to tell me that life would be dull without adversities. There's some truth in it. 

Kadang-kadang

Kadang-kadang kita rasa diri kita je bagus, orang lain sume salah. 

Kadang-kadang orang buat baik kat kita banyak, kita tak ingat,tapi dia buat silap sikit je, kita ingat sampai mati.

Kadang-kadang orang tersilap sikit je kita rasa marah gile, tapi bila kita yg buat silap, takpe pulak.

Kadang-kadang kita tunggu orang 10 minit,kita geram, tapi bila orang tunggu kita sejam lebih, pun masih takpe.

Kadang-kadang kita senang je mengutuk orang macam-macam, sedangkan kadang-kadang apa yg kita buat lagi teruk daripada apa yg orang tu buat silap.

Selalu kita nampak kekurangan yg ada pada orang tapi kekurangan pada diri selalu kita rasionalkan dengan macam-macam alasan.

Kadang-kadang, cuma kadang-kadang terpikir, kenapa kita macam ni? Kadang-kadang.

Lesson: Always be lazy

Story About My Mom : Asam pedas vs Tengkuk ayam

Time darjah 3:
Memori aku memang kuat mengingat masa silam. (Well kakak aku cakap aku ni memang nostalgik cket)Time tu keadaan keluarga agak susah dan sesak sikit. Semua tanggungjawab terpikul atas bahu mak yg sabar membesarkan 6 org anak time tu kakak sulung baru form 3, adik bongsu plak darjah 1. Memang sesaklah waktu tu, jarang2 makan nasik malam. Kerap kali  sekadar makan cucur bawang mak buat makan petang dalam pukul 6 pm macam tu dan malam kalau lapar sangat makan biskut kering atau roti benggali cicah teh.

 Makan malam pun kalau ada lauk mak masak tengahhari yg lebih, lauk tu la makan sorang sikit. Ada satu hari tu mak masak asam pedas ikan pari yg memang feveret aku (time tu bagi kami lauk ni memang mewah). Malam tu ada la lebih kuah asam pedas tu sikit. Aku ni plak yg memang kuat makan pun merengek lapar malam tu. Mak pun kikis saki baki kerak nasi dalam periuk dan masukkan dalam satu pinggan, letak kuah asam pedas pastu panggil aku dgn leh (adik bongsu aku) makan. Sedap sungguh nasik tu aku ingat sampai sekarang, mak aku tengok ja aku dgn adik aku makan dengan muka yg sedih. Adik aku makan sikit ja pastu dia taknak, aku pun sengaja berhenti makan tinggalkan saki baki dalam sesuap. Mak aku suruh habiskan tapi aku cakap kenyang, sedangkan saja aku tinggal untuk mak makan. Lepas tu kami pun buat kerja masing2, mak plak lepas habis basuh pinggan dan solat isyak, mak suka duduk atas buaian kat luar rumah  berzikir perlahan sambil melihat kadang2 orang lalu-lalang. Aku tahu mak sedih, tapi hanya itu yang mampu mak lakukan selepas sehari melayan kami, dia hanya mampu duduk diatas buaian mengenangkan nasib kami semua. Kadang2 mak menangis perlahan. Malam tu aku bisikkan pada hatiku, bila aku dah kerja dan senang nanti, takkan aku biarkan satu malam berlalu di mana mak sedih atau lapar.

Tahun 3 university:

Aku balik rumah, cuti. Aku sibuk study, next week ada 2 test & pbl (problem based learning). Mak mintak tolong aku belek2 resit, kirakan berapa banyak yg dah bayar utk rumah yg mak dah beli. Aku pun kira pastu aku bebal sebab resit tu dah bercampur2 ada yg 1 payment tp 2 resit. Lepas tu aku sambung study. Mak cakap lagi pasal resit2 tu. Dengan suara sedikit meninggi ku cakap "Time hanip study janganla cakap pasal duit, tension la!" Mak aku hanya senyap. Dalam hati aku rasa bersalah meninggi suara tadi. Dalam pukul 6 lebih mak ke dapur, "mak tanya malam ni nak makan tak hanip?" Aku jawab " kalau ada lauk hanip makan la".


Pastu aku ke dapur, mak sendukkan nasi tengah hari td dari rice cooker (sebab nak masak nasik lagi). Aku pun amik sikit nasik tengah hari tadi, aku tanya mak ada lauk tak. Mak cakap "Ada tu mak tinggal kat ampa sorang seketul ayam jangan amik lebih nanti tak cukup, mak pun amik tengkuk ja" Aku pandang semangkuk ayam masak merah tengah hari tadi yg memang mak masak special setiap kali aku balik sebab ni ayam masak merah pun feveret aku gak sejak kecik.


Aku tengok dalam pinggan mak ada nasik, 1 tengkuk ayam dan sedikit kuah. Aku pun amik seketul ayam yang paling kecik sekali, pastu sambil makan aku teringat balik cerita time aku darjah 3 tadi tu. Dalam hati rasa sebak, sambil aku makan pelan2 aku tengok muka mak berulang kali. Masa dah berlalu, tapi kasih sayang mak pada anak dia tak pernah berubah, aku pulak semakin besar semakin lupa kat mak aku, duk kat kl tu bila nak exam atau ada masalah baru teringat nak telefon mak. Harap Allah beri kesempatan untuk aku balas jasa mak aku dan buat mak aku senang. Hanip mintak maaf mak.....

Geram

Cerita 1:

Hari ni pi fotostat buku, tinggal la kat kedai tu.. Dia suruh ambik malam, tapi dah 2 kali p kedai tu tutup, kat pintu kedai ada number phone, try call owner tu berkali2 dia tak jawab. Hati rasa geram, kalau nak berniaga menyusahkan orang lebih baik jgn berniaga. Esok dah nak balik penang, kalau kedai tu tak bukak esok nampak gayanya kena amik minggu depan la tapi minggu depan exam.

Cerita 2:

Pagi tadi p hiking di bukit broga, p bertiga, aku yang ajak. Ada sorang member ni dia asyik mengeluh je keje. Ada je yg nak dicomplainnye sepanjang jalan. "Tak cantik la tempat ni, menyesal la datang, korang ni mcm ni la, mcm tu la." Kalau ikutkan hati rase mcm nak tolak je masuk gaung tu, merosakkan mood orang je dah la pagi2 sebelum subuh time tu, kalau ko x suke jangan la datang. Dalam hati ni membara je tapi just senyap je la (When i m silent, there is something wrong). Pastu teringat pesan en azhar (pegawai jabatan kebajikan msyrkt di rumah seri kenangan cheras tempat buat ko-k), dia cakap kita kena selalu maafkan kawan. Jadi sabar je la, pas beberapa lama cakap la balik, senyum je walau dalam hati agak sakit.

Cerita 3:

Takde ape2 cerita dah... Cuma sejak kebelakangan ni rasa asyik nak marah orang je keje tapi senyap je la cuma waktu time2 mood x menentu ni sape yg cari pasal mmg aku tarik muka je la.

Letih

Berat kaki ini untuk terus melangkah...

Positive People

There are many things that happen lately.. And it make me think..Thinking made me tired. Untouched note that keep on piling. I have become so unorganized. Actually im not going to talk about how unorganized i am, instead, i want to talk about negative attitude, not in a sense of how we behave to others, but on how we view matters or problems. My friends always tell me that i am so emotional in behaving to certain circumstances which i do admit but not all the time and at the same time I believe many of us is just like that. Words has no  power to hurt you unless it come from the person that you care.

p/s: Lately I learned a lot of things through hard ways. But I am grateful to be blessed by a few friends who would always be my listener when i need one and always supporting me from behind. U know who u r.

Tentang Burung

Di persisiran pantai Kanada ada sekumpulan burung undan yg tinggal dalam kawanan. Bila tiba musim sejuk atau pun pada akhir musim luruh, burung2 ni akan terbang ke Selatan Amerika untuk mencari habitat yang lebih panas. Apa yang menariknya pasal burung2 ni, bila dorang start terbang, dalam beberapa saat dorang akan membentuk satu garisan yg lurus yg kemudiaanny membengkot sedikit utk membentuk huruf 'V'. Jadi, kenape burung2 ni terbang dalam formation bentuk 'V'? Apa yg dapat kita pelajari daripada burung2 ni?

Jawapannye:

1. Bila burung2 ni terbang dalam bentuk 'V', diorang dapat pergi pada jarak 71% peratus lebih jauh berbanding seekor burung terbang bersendirian. Pengajaran yg dapat kita pelajari dari sini ialah jika kita berkongsi satu matlamat yg sama dan berusaha secara bersama, InsyaAllah kita dapat mencapai matlamat tersebut dengan lebih senang dan cepat. Perjuangan memerlukan kesatuan dan kebersamaan.
2. Jika burung yg mengetuai (didepan) penerbangan letih, dia akan terbang kebelakang dan angsa lain yg akan mengambil kedudukan untuk mengetuai dan meneruskan perjalanan.Pengajaran kedua disini ialah kita perlu lah berkongsi beban sesuatu tugas yg berat tu dan jangan lah serahkan semuanya kepada ketua semata-mata.
3. Burung2 dibelakang akan bunyi dan seolah-olah 'hon' untuk menggalakkan burung2 didepan bergerak pada kelajuan yg sama dengan mereka. Pengajaran disini ialah, kita hendaklah memotivasikan rakan2 kita untuk maju seiring dengan kita.
4. Akhir sekali jika ada burung yg sakit atau ditembak jatuh, akan ada 2 ekor angsa yg lain yg turut keluar dari formasi untuk mengiringi burung yg jatuh atau sakit tu kebawah untuk membantu dan melindungi burung yang sakit tu sampai la burung tu mati atau pun burung tu sihat kembali dan barulah dorang memulakan penerbangan sendiri atau dengan kumpulan lain sampailah dorng jumpa kumpulan dorang yg asal tadi. Pengajaran yg terakhir, jika kita mempunyai perasaan mcm burung2 tu, kita takkan meninggalkan kawan2 kita bersendirian bila diorang hadapi masalah. 

Apa yg nak disampaikan disini ialah tentang sinergi iaitu satu tambah satu sama dengan lebih daripada dua. Sekadar berkongsi untuk kita ambil sedikit pengajaran dari alam.

p/s: Ni lah cerita yg sy cakap tu..

Lesson In Life

When Prognosis Turns Diagnosis

Autosuggestion

 "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better"


This is a quotation by Émile Coué which was a French pharmacist and physiologist. This quotation serve as a placebo in which it is believed if u repeat this quotation everyday, its gives some sort of reaffirmation to your unconscious thoughts unlike a held belief that strong conscious will constitute the best path to success.

Anaesthesia

Anesthesia is the loss of sensation. Anesthetic agents are drug used to to achieve anesthesia. Anesthesia allow patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without distress and pain they would otherwise experience.

There are 4 aspects in the practice of surgical anesthesia i.e:
1. Pre-anesthetic
2. Induction
3. Maintenance
4. Recovery

Anesthesia result from an effective anesthetic tension (concentration in partial pressure) in the brain. The faster the induction, the faster the effective anesthetic tension in the brain is achieved.

Distribution of anaesthetic to the tissue ( rate of rise of anesthetic tension in any tissue) depends on tissue solubility of anesthetic and tissue perfusion.

1.Tissue solubility 

Tissue solubility of anesthetic is expressed as tissue blood perfusion coefficients which value usually 1-3 for most tissue but >>>1 for fat. The higher the the tissue solubility, the higher the time to reach equilibrium between tissue and arterial blood and thus the slower is the rate of increase in anesthetic tension.

2. Tissue perfusion

Fat is poorly perfused tissue. So equilibrium with fat (6% of cardiac output) is the slowest.

Thus, in person with high fat content (fat people), tissue solubility of anaesthetic is higher and tissue perfusion is lower. So it take more time to equilibrate and reach effective anaesthetic tension.

I post this as a reply of  request from my friend who ask about the influence of fat on anesthesia in fat people. Do correct me if u find that my conclusion is not correct.

Falsafah Hidup

Dalam perjuangan kita dilahirkan. Didalam gerak tangis kita mulai membuka mata. Didalam bedungan ibu kita menggerakkan badan melepaskan ikatan bedung. Lepas  dari asuhan ibu, kita merangkak, kita angsur tegak dan kita jatuh, lalu kita tegak lagi dan jatuh lagi. Kemudian tegak terus untuk pergi berjuang ke medan permainan, lalu ke medan hidup, lalu ke perjuangan dalam batin kita sendiri, menegakkan yang baik dan melawan yang buruk. Selama hidup kita kerjakan demikian, menjalankan perintah Tuhan Yang Maha Esa. Berapa pun yang dapat kita kerjakan, harus kita syukuri. Setiap hari atau masa kita hitunglah laba dan rugi. Sampai kelak datang panggilan. Panggilan yang tidak dapat ditakkhirkan walau satu saat dan tidak pula ditaqdimkan walau satu saat. Panggilan yang tak dapat dielakkan oleh setiap yang bernyawa.

                Maka terbukalah pintu kubur. Maknanya pindahlah kita dari hidup fana kepada hidup baqa, dari hidup dunia kepada hidup akhirat. Demikianlah kita menempuh hidup; lahir berjuang dan akhirnya mati.

                Betapa juapun kita harus percaya, bahawa kebaikan juga yang menang. Sebab asal-usul kejahatan kita bukan jahat, hanya baik semata. Kalau kejahatan pernah menang, hanyalah lantaran dorongan nafsu. Bila nafsu telah reda, kebaikan jualah yang kita junjung. Sebab itu hendaklah kita percaya penuh dengan Iman dan baik sangka dengan Tuhan. Itulah Falsafah Hidup.

Prof Dr. Hamka. Falsafah Hidup

Panadol ActiFast Versus Panadol Regular

What is the difference between this 2 products?

Panadol regular or panadol 500mg. Each tablet contain 500mg of paracetamol. The price is around RM 2.80 for 10 tablets.

Panadol ActiFast. Each caplet contain 500mg of paracetamol + 173mg of sodium. The price is around RM 4.60 for 8 caplets.

The amount of active ingredient is the same. So what is the difference between this two products? 

The key different actually lies in the excipient (non-active ingredients content of the tablet).

 For the drug to carry out it action, it must be absorbed from our gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Paracetamol is poorly absorbed in the stomach but well absorbed in the small intestine due to the greater surface area and hence absorptive capacity of the small intestine. 

Sodium bicarbonate is an excipient in the formulation which has a role in increasing the rates of gastric emptying (hence movement of drugs from the stomach into small intestine) and that of dissolution and hence the speed of absorption of paracetamol to provide faster onset of relief.

However, the amount of sodium bicarbonate in 2 tablets of Panadol ActiFast are required per dose to have such an effect which mean you have to take 2 tablets of Panadol Actifast to has that fast rate of absorption.

The rate of absorption of Panadol ActiFast is twice as fast as standard panadol if taken in 2 tablets per dose.

If you take only 1 tablet of Panadol Actifast, the rate of absorption is the same as taking 1 tablet of standard panadol. For asian, it is customary that sometime we take only 500mg (1 tablet) of doses. So I would suggest to take standard panadol if you wish to take only 1 tablet as it would be cheaper while the effect is the same.

The extend (amount) of drug absorption is the same for both product. The Panadol ActiFast is meant to give fast relief of pain while the EFFICACY of both product is the SAME 

Reference:

1.GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/21529/SPC/panadol%20actifast/

2, Drugs.com. Panadol ActiFast. Retrieved from: http://www.drugs.com/uk/panadol-actifast-spc-8801.html

Hypocrite!!

Korang pernah tak jumpa orang yg cakap "i hate hypocrite!", "aku benci gila kat org yg hipocrite!" dan ayat2 yg sewaktu dengannya atau adakah anda tergolong dalam golongan yg macam ni? If u r one of this people then u r a bigger hypocrite!!!!

Because for me, most of us used to be hypocrite, it just the matter of how u define that word. Just take at look at this few definitions of hypocrite!!!! :

1. A person who engage in the same behaviors he condemn others for.

2. A person who profess certain ideals, but fail to live up to them.

3. Someone who complains about something but find themselves doing exactly the same thing.
 A: "i hate people that complain about other people, they're SO annoying!"
B: Shut up, hypocrite!


4. Someone who say they would never do something or never be like someone, yet turns around and does the thing that they say they will never do.

5.Someone who say they hate something but when someone else says they like it, they turn around and say they like it too. (A follower)

source: urban dictionary


Having read the definitions stated above, are u sure u never belong to any of the categories above? Come on la, how many time u have smile to the people that u dont like?

How many time u have being nice in front of someone but u condemn the person behind their back? Isnt that hypocrite??

You hate when people cheat you but it is ok for u to cheat.

How many time u have been trying to be nice to a person and conceal ur bad behavior??

U preach something that u dont do. Isnt that hypocrite?

I am a hypocrite and i treat different people differently and i did that for some reason but i hate someone who say they hate hypocrite and condemn me for being one!

QUote

 I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means -- except by getting off his back. -leo tolstoy

Time

"It's sad when people you know become people you knew..when you can walk past someone like they were never a big part of your life..how u use to be able to talk for hours and how can barely even look at them..its sad, how time change.."

F.r.i.e.n.d

When i finished working today, i switched on my phone and i received a msg from my colleague back then in matriculation.

The msg is:

"We never know the true value of friends. While they live, we r too sensible of their faults. When we have lost them, we see only their virtues. Thus we cannot get much out of friendship unless we r ready to forgive each other weaknesses. Friends 4ver."

This is the msg which i used to sent to a friend of mine which r having conflict with my best friend.

p/s: the person who sent the msg r not in this pict

Histamine

Histamine is the ligand for 2 membrane-bound receptors i.e the H1 and H2 receptors which are present on many cell types.

The activation of H1 histamine receptors on the endothelial and smooth muscle cells leads to increase in capillary permeability.

The activation of H2 histamine receptors lead to arteriolar and venules vasodilation. This causes extravasion of the fluid and causes the areas involved to be inflammed.

Choices

Last night while chatting with a friend. She told me something that made me think...

"Family is the choice Allah made for me while Friend is something that i choose"

I love my family but i think i have prioritize my friends far more than my family.

My family

Gas Ketawa

Gas ketawa atau laughing gas ni nama lain bagi Nitrous Oxide (N₂0). Gas nitrous oxide ni adalah sejenis gas yang digunakan dalam dental procedure sebagai pain killer. Gas ni adlh general anesthetic agent dan selalu digunakan dlm induction phase of anaesthesia in surgery..Tu dia, mai dah masuk bab pharmacolgy..haha..teringat dr Debra Sim yg semangat ajar topik ni tapi aku tak dengar satu apa punn

Ok back to the topic, gas nitrous oxide ni bila digunakan dalam concentration atau kepekatan yang tertentu akn menyebabkan euphoria (mat rempit panggil 'high') dan ketawa secara spontan..hahahaha

Macam best je kan gas ni, ok mengarut je..tapi ada terpikir gak nak lepaskan gas ni kalau aku masuk pertandingan maharaja lawak yang tak berapa nak lawak tu.

Back to the fact, depending on the concentration of the gas administered, the user can experience this 4 level of sedation:

1. Tinggling sensation (rasa menyucuk) and paresthesia (rasa getaran) followed by;

2. warm sensation

3.feeling of well being, euphoria and floating

4. At a deeper level of sedation, again sleepiness and dream. Nausea means you are oversedated!

Despite it desirable effect, laughing gas should only be used for professional purpose such as surgery due to its analgesic effect as this drug is habit forming and it do have undesirable side effect and in fact it posession also subject to legality in the particular country..

p/s Dr debra ni suka letak quotation kat note dia, ni antara quotation dia yg aku secara tak sengaja dah terhafal:

"When the going get tough, the tougher get going"

to do list for today

The most expensive drug in the world!!

I came across about this issue while reading an MPS bulentin...

The most expensive drug in the world is Soliris (eculizumab) which is a monoclonal antibody that treats a rare disorder in which the immune system destrys red bloos cells at night. The disorder is known as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. It cost $1121.92 a day.

Top 5 MOST EXPENSIVE drugs in the world:

1. Soliris, Alexion Pharmaceutical, $409,500 a year. Monoclonal antibody drug treats a rare disorder in which the immune system destroys red blood cells at night.

2. Elaprase, Shire, $375,000 per year. Treats Hunter's syndrome, a metabolic disorder.

3. Naglazyme, BioMarin, $365,000 a year. Trats rare connective tissue disorder

4. Cinryze, ViroPharma, $350,000 a year. Trats hereditary angioedema, a rare life-threatening genetic disorder that cause painful swelling.

5. Arcalyst, Regeneron, $250,000 a year. An antiinflammatory for patients with impaired immune systems.

References:

1. Edwards. J. BNET. 20 Expensive Drugs That Could Bankrupt Medicare. Retrived from: http://www.bnet.com/blog/drug-business/20-expensive-drugs-that-could-bankrupt-medicare/8885?pg=2&tag=content;drawer-container

2. Jeremy. The Most Expensive Journal. World's Most Expensive Medicine. Retrieved from: http://most-expensive.net/medicines

3. Herper. M. Forbes.com. The World's Most Expensive Drugs. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/19/expensive-drugs-cost-business-healthcare-rare-diseases.html

Why medical and health line students cheat!?

A study has been done to determine what leads to pharmacy students cheating in a university setting. A questionnaire was distributed mainly to pharmacy students at a comprehensive university in the southeastern United States to assess self-esteem, self-efficacy, idealism, relativism, student attitudes toward cheating, tolerance for peer cheating, detachment from the university, Machiavellian behavior, and demographic information.

Results.

Factors that influence student attitudes toward cheating:

•  Gender. Male students were more likely to tolerate cheating behavior in their peers, which may suggest that they are more likely to engage in academic dishonesty.
• Relativism. There was a positive correlation between tolerance of peer cheating and relativism. Relativistic students believe that moral actions depend on the nature of the situation and the individuals involved. Thus, their judgment of others is based more on circumstances than the ethical principle that was violated. Relativistic students tend to be highly pragmatic and may view cheating as a possible last resort that is preferable to the alternative of failing a test, assignment, or course.
• Degree of idealism Contrary to relativism, higher levels of idealism were negatively correlated with tolerance for peer cheating. 
• Institutional setting. Detachment from the university was positively correlated to higher tolerance for peer cheating.

Factors that doesn’t influence students attitude towards cheating:

•  Age
• GPA
• Race
•  Income
• Marital status

Other studies:

Baldwin and colleagues reported that:


1. Medical students

• 39% witnessed some type of cheating among classmates during the first 2 years of their medical education
• 67% had heard about cheating
• 5% admitted cheating

2.Baccalaurate and associate-degree nursing students

• 61% to 94% of students had witnessed peer cheating
• 8% to 39% had cheated themselves

3. Pharmacy student

•  80% of students admit cheating or witnessing cheating while attending pharmacy school.

Reference:

Marilyn D. Saulsbury PhD, BSPharm; Ulysses J. Brown, PhD; Simone O. Heyliger PhD; Ruby L. Beale PhD. Effect of Dispositional Traits on Pharmacy Students' Attitude Toward Cheating. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Medscape Pharmacist. Retrieved from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/744338

Tired...

I got this stats from fitness first after workout today...looks like a long way to go to become fit..

what i did this semester??

Eventhough this semester was quite short (not really actually), it was packed and fun..This are some of the new things that happen to me this semester..

Playing laser tag at mid valley..best oo...it was my first time playing and guess what, i got a first place!! hehe

the 1st event in this sem is pharmacy annaul dinner a.k.a pharmnite...haiz nasib baik lah dapat cari baju tu kat downtown..itu pun last kedai lepas hbs pusing downtown tu..almaklumlah american size susah cri baju..

i do smile sometime ok.. ..haha

then i also went for national pharmacy sport carnival in usm..it was the first time actually i involve in some sport..by the way i join tarik tali and was the captain

Eat arabic food at saba restaurant. This is what we used to do usually on friday night when we go out to lepak2..one of geng kembara malam activity..

General election..hahaha..this is the poster made by my friend syahir and shahrul and also thanx to qayyum which uploaded it and campaign for me...this is what trigger me to contest (rase mcm poyo pulak)

The candidates and voting in process...

...and i cant believe it i become the president of pharmsoc, never have come to my mind before.

senior aku khairuzaman slalu ckp kalau jd lubuk kolej jgn la jd lubuk department gak...ha ni aku buktikan kat ko zaman..hehe

then we go to picnic in hutan lipur kanching...if i not mistaken this is after a test but cant remember which one

this is a pic of pharmsoc HiCom during kem kepimpinan HEP in negeri 9..we are forced to go and because of this i missed going tu camping in chilling waterfall with my housemates..but what to do, position come with responsibility

the day after i came back from the kem kepimpinan hep was my birthday...and i was pranked by my friend..thanx to my friend irfan which make my birthday this year a memorable one..but actually im wearing that red shirt for the first time and it was supposed for the pharmsoc hicom photoshoot and that day...nevertheless thanx friends :)

....so im end up wearing the dull colour shirt and this my pic on thr photoshoot..they said im the only one who doesnt smile in the pic...they should understand it is the typical me..and typical hanif do not smile..haha

this is one of my favourite activity in the evening other than jogging..seksa nak mampus aku ajak dorg ni baru lah dorg nak temankan aku main..heheh

After exam, we Langkawi people went for a trip in Langkawi (my first trip to island other than penang..banyak duit woo habis beli coklat)

this one is my favourite pic...gambar kat pulau beras basah kalau x silap...

Then after langkawi trip is NoGaps or national gathering of pharmacy student in which i m a commitee and a participant at the same time (penat ooo)

this is my group during the explorace..

and this is my group during the gala night (event that culminate the NoGaps)

the theme was against the AIDS.

After NoGaps was special semester which start on the last day of NoGaps..

 and after special sem is another trip but this time we went for camping...

on the 1st day we went to kuantan (rumah qayyum)

tasik kenyir

on 2nd,3rd and 4th day we spent in terengganu, we camped at pantai keluang

and the last day we went to kelantan..dapat la beli seluar jeans sehelai..

then we went back to kl and then i come back to penang..TRUE HOLIDAY started..

this is my main activity during holiday...hiking..this time i went with my friend hezry and bakri..

Ni je la keje aku sem ni..xde mende sangat..tp bila pikir balik banyak la jugak..hOhO