The history of drug development -- The modern pharmaceutical industry : big and small pharma, biotechnology companies, and generic drug makers -- Legal considerations, intellectual property, patents and patent protection -- The global regulatory landscape -- Phases of drug development : old and new paradigms -- Discovery / preclinical -- Phase I -- Phase II -- Phase III -- Phase IV, special populations and post marketing commitments -- Role and function of project teams -- Compound progression and go / no go criteria -- Regulatory milestones and the submission process -- Life cycle management -- Formulation development -- Chemistry and manufacturing (CMC) -- Health economics and the healthcare industry -- Current state of affairs : attrition rates and evolving corporate strategies -- Medical devices -- Distribution and the supply chain -- Sales, marketing and advertising -- Generic drugs and the generic industry -- The generic approval process -- Data sharing and collaboration -- The future of the pharmaceutical industry.