Inadequate resources and a fragmented healthcare system in Bangladesh lead to the practice of almost non-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADR). Pharmacists may offer service in this regard to strengthen pharmacovigilance if given the appropriate opportunity. To evaluate their preparedness, the current cross-sectional study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of pharmacy students about the ADR reporting system. A validated self-administered and structured questionnaire was filled out online upon informed consent by 400 final-year and master-level participants from 22 public and private universities. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, v.23.0) and Microsoft Excel. The average knowledge score of the students came out as 2.93 (SD=0.6) out of 5. While fundamental knowledge regarding ADR was displayed well by the participants such as agreeing to ‘side effects and ADRs are different’ (85%), advanced conceptual understanding exhibited lacking. For example, variable like ‘distinguishing between ADR and an adverse drug event’, ‘not all ADRs are known before a drug is marketed’, and ‘before ADR reporting, drug’s association needs no confirmation’ showed 14%, 41% and 5% correctness, respectively. However, 98% of the participants emphasized the need for ADR reporting, in both serious and non-serious cases, 85% knew that anybody can report ADR and approximately the same percentage of students could identify the organization receiving reports. Less than half (47%) were familiar with the authorized ADR reporting form and 40% reportedly claimed that they knew when and how to report. The need for more relevant education about this was supported by most of the students (91.8%). Participants mostly agreed about the need for reporting and gaining more overall awareness about the ADR reporting procedure. The findings suggest that increased knowledge, training, assertiveness and practice among all stakeholders are necessary for a spontaneous ADR reporting system in the country. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 22(1): 21-28, 2023 (June)

Cancer has been one of the most dominant causes of mortality globally over the last few decades. In cancer treatment, the selective targeting of tumor cells is indispensable, making it a better replacement for conventional chemotherapies by diminishing their adverse side effects. While designing a drug to be delivered selectively in the target organ, the drug development scientists should focus on various factors such as the type of cancer they are dealing with according to which drug, targeting moieties, and pharmaceutical carriers should be targeted. All published articles have been collected regarding cancer and drug-targeting approaches from well reputed databases including MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CENTRAL and ClinicalTrials.gov, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Wiley, and Springer. The articles published between January 2010 and December 2020 were considered. Due to the existence of various mechanisms, it is challenging to choose which one is appropriate for a specific case. Moreover, a combination of more than one approach is often utilized to achieve optimal drug effects. In this review, we have summarized and highlighted central mechanisms of how the targeted drug delivery system works in the specific diseased microenvironment, along with the strategies to make an approach more effective. We have also included some pictorial illustrations to have a precise idea about different types of drug targeting. The core contribution of this work includes providing a cancer drug development scientist with a broad preliminary idea to choose the appropriate approach among the various targeted drug delivery mechanisms. Also, the study will contribute to improving anticancer treatment approaches by providing a pathway for lesser side effects observed in conventional chemotherapeutic techniques.