Performance task: Drug development

IB Chemistry
Role and audience
You are a scientist/researcher at a pharmaceutical company presenting to doctors and other representatives
of the pharmaceutical industry
Task
You are going to present the results of a clinical trial for a medicine to your peers. Choose a medicine that
you are interested in or that treats a condition that you are interested in. You may use an actual drug study
or you can make one up and present a fictional study. Presentations of lifestyle or recreational drugs
will neither be entertained nor assessed. That is for a later lesson.
To search for actual studies, you may use Google Scholar or the U.S. National Institutes of Health to
search for an article.
Even if you are making up a therapeutic drug, I strongly urge you to read an article to determine what a
drug study looks like. An example can be found here. You will present on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY
11TH.
Checklist (1 mark each will be awarded for the presence of these elements)
1. An introduction to the disease / condition being treated and the drug
2. Goal of the clinical trial
3. Method of the clinical trial
4. Phase of drug development
5. Results of the clinical trial
6. Evaluation and recommendations
7. Asking questions of other presenters
8. Required vocabulary (use as many as you can): dose, therapeutic window, LD 50, ED50,
side effects, drug tolerance, physical dependence, psychological dependence, (randomized /
double-blind / single-blind) clinical trial, Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, placebo (effect), route of
administration

Grading rubric
Aspect

Complete

Partial

Not at all

Use of appropriate
vocabulary

Uses the required

vocabulary and additional
appropriate vocabulary at
all stages of the
presentation.

Misses some key

opportunities to use
required vocabulary in the
presentation.

Does not use any or very

little of the required
vocabulary in the
presentation.

Identification of phase
of development

Accurately identifies the

phase of drug
development with support.

Accurately identifies the

phase of drug
development with little
support.

Does not accurately

identify the phase of drug
development.

Evaluation and
recommendations

Thoroughly assesses the

advantages and
disadvantages of the drug
with reference to moral,
social, economic or
environmental
implications. Supports
evaluation with results.

States the advantages and

disadvantages of the drug
but does not evaluate
them or provides little
support.

Does not evaluate the

benefits of the drug.

Communication

Communication is clear
and the main ideas of the
presentation are
understood.

Minor errors in
communication but the
main ideas are still
understood.

Errors in communication
obscure the main ideas of
the presentation.

Asking questions

Asks at least one carefully

thought-out question that
uses appropriate
vocabulary.

Asks at least one question,

but the question is
superficial.

Does not ask any

questions.

Citing sources

All borrowed images,

tables, graphs, text and
ideas are cited
appropriately using MLA
format.

Some borrowed images,

tables, graphs, text and
ideas are not cited or
MLA format is not used.

Credit is not given where

it is due.

Schizophrenia:
The difference in life expectancy for patients with schizophrenia compared with the general population is
more than 20 years, and cardiovascular disease accounts for at least 50% of this excess mortality. While
the basis for increased cardiovascular disease in schizophrenia is multifactorial, adverse metabolic side
effects of antipsychotic medications include increased risk for weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and impaired
glucose metabolism. Studies suggest that antipsychotic-induced metabolic side effects can increase both
the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Given the magnitude
of the problem, surprisingly little evidence from randomized trials is available to guide the management
of antipsychotic-induced weight gain and related metabolic deficits.
An introduction to the disease / condition being treated and the drug
Goal of the clinical trial
Method of the clinical trial
Phase of drug development
Results of the clinical trial
Evaluation and recommendations
Asking questions of other presenters
Required vocabulary (use as many as you can): dose, therapeutic window, LD 50, ED50, side effects, drug
tolerance, physical dependence, psychological dependence, (randomized / double-blind / single-blind)
clinical trial, Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, placebo (effect), route of administration
Jarskog, Lars F., Robert M. Hamer, Diane J. Catellier, Dawn D. Stewart, Lisa LaVange, Neepa Ray,
Lauren H. Golden, Jeffrey A. Lieberman, and Scott Stroup. "Metformin for Weight Loss and Metabolic
Control in Overweight Outpatients With Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder." American Journal
of Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Association, Sept. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
<http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12010127>.