How Medicines are Born

The Imperfect Science of Drugs

This book is an excursion into the drug development process, from the initial conception in a chemical or molecular biology lab, via tests in isolated cells and animals, to the stage of clinical trials. The human body is a complex ecosystem where little is conclusively known in terms of its response to medication, for both sick and healthy individuals. The considerable degree of uncertainty inherent in health-related research can lead to approval of controversial medicines, particularly in high-stakes scenarios and medical crises. Real-life examples are drawn on here to explain the decision making processes behind the acceptance of new drugs, disproving misconceptions around medicines by delving into the history and current practice of the drug development process.

Originally written in Italian, How Medicines are Born helps patients, students, public health officials physicians, healthcare practitioners and biomedical scientists make informed decisions on the benefits and disadvantages of select medicine based on an understanding of the history of drug development.

Published in Italian (2014), M D'Incalci & L Vozza, Come Nascono le Medicine; La scienza imperfetta dei farmaci. Bologna: Zanichelli

Contents:

• Foreword — Improving the Culture of Medicine
• About the Authors
• Precautions and Warnings Before Using This Book
• To Cure, Heal or Repair
• Hunting for Drugs
• Laboratory Studies
• First Time in Humans
• Only Probabilities, Never Certainties
• Approval or Rejection
• Vigilance, Revisions, New Indications
• Predicting the Drugs of the Future
• Not Every Pill is a Proper Drug
• If You Want to Know More...
• Myths to be Dispelled
• Did You Know That...
• Index

Readership: Undergraduate, post-graduate and researchers in basic biomedical, biological and chemical disciplines; physicians; health service policy-makers and members of the general public.