![](/drug-discovery/non_clinical_safety_and_toxicology/Anders-bach-550x300.jpg?resize=tileslayout)
Go to the newsletter page and sign up to receive course dates, call for applications and other related programme news.
The high attrition rate seen late in development programmes has caused an intensification and expansion of the field of safety science, towards a much more integrated view of safety from early discovery to post-marketing safety monitoring.
Exercises are based on case stories where you will be presented with real toxicological data in a stepwise manner and asked to formulate qualified conclusions at each step. This enables you to solve issues that you would encounter in your daily work life and integrate various safety aspects in the overall assessment for selection of drug candidates. The course setup will allow you to develop your knowledge in close collaboration with fellow students and leading scientists from the university, pharmaceutical industry, and health authorities.
Course content
The course concerns investigations used in the non-clinical safety assessment of new drugs. These include evaluation of general toxicity and safety pharmacology, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity but also aspects of ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) and toxicokinetics in relevant species.
The objective of the course is to introduce participants to non-clinical safety assessment and to give participants an insight in the requirements and the conclusions to be drawn from the results of non-clinical safety studies conducted in vivo as well as in vitro.
The course was highly relevant because of the guest speakers from the industry and the real-life cases that were presented to us.
The course has increased my awareness of what authorities need in order to evaluate new drug applications and taught me how to use the guidelines more efficiently.
Course dates
Spring 2026
The course is available every second year.
Examination
Please find the exam dates in the exam plan.
You can find further information about the course and the exam in the course curriculum.
See an overview of all courses on Master of Industrial Drug Development.
Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:
Professionals in need of interdisciplinary overview
The course is for professionals in the pharmaceutical industry who needs a basic understanding of non-clinical safety assessment. You will gain insight in the requirements and the conclusions to be drawn from the results of non-clinical safety studies conducted in vivo as well as in vitro.
You must meet the following criteria to be admitted to this course:
Find detailed information in the admission criteria on Master of Industrial Drug Development.
Priority is given to enrolled students
This course is offered as a compulsory course in the Master of Industrial Drug Development programme. Priority is given to students already enrolled. Once the enrolled students have been admitted to the course, the remaining seats are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
EU/EEA citizens: 12,050 DKK
Non-EU/EEA citizens: 13,825 DKK
The fee includes lunch/coffee.
University of Copenhagen
Department of Pharmacy/
Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Annette Villumsen
Study Administration Officer
Tel.: +45 35 33 60 66