Developing Drugs

• What are new medical drugs extensively tested for? (4)

  efficacy, toxicity, dosage & if they can be taken into the body and removed easily
• What is Preclinical Testing?

  new drugs tested in laboratories using cells, tissues or organs - if it works it is then tested on live animals
• What are Clinical Trials?

  Tests of the drugs on healthy volunteers and patients. Low doses are used to test for safety, followed by a higher dose to test for optimum dose
• Why is a placebo sometimes used in trials?

  To check that the drug being tested really does have an effect on the patient
• What is a placebo?

  A substance that does not contain a drug
• What happens in a double-blind trial?

  neither the doctor nor the patient knows who is given a drug and who has the placebo - they then report any side effects