WHERE DOES MEDICINE COME FROM?

 

Scientists and doctors have probably spent countless hours developing it. The task of getting a drug to your local pharmacy is complex, arduous, and frequently expensive.Pharmaceutical companies have established elaborate business models for the research, development, and production of molecules to treat diseases.

The first phase of drug development involves laboratory experiments to discover and refine the drug, and the second phase is to test the drug in clinical trials to evaluate the drug’s safety and efficacy in patients. Despite technological advances, there are fewer new medicines approved every year.

Phase 1:

The collection of test molecules can include both man-made molecules and natural products. Through the screening process, a molecule may show potential as a drug by binding to the target biomolecule (i.e., the key for the lock) or killing diseased cells.

Modern drug discovery typically involves a process called high-throughput screening, where thousands of molecules are tested at once for their efficacy against a certain drug target.

Phase Two:

Clinical trials are the stage of drug development where a drug’s effect on humans is tested. At this second phase, often billions of dollars have already been invested in a drug’s discovery and development; this huge investment is a major part of the inherent financial risk in drug development.

Fortunately, the federal government has recognized the urgency of the challenge facing drug discovery and created a new center for drug development at the National Institutes of Health. Drug discovery is a long, laborious process, and only time will tell whether the current strategies will be effective in producing viable remedies.