Testing Medicines

• What is the main focus of the video?

  How new medicines are discovered and tested
• What are the sources of new medicines?

  • Extracted from plants (e.g., digitalis from foxglove, aspirin from willow)
  • Extracted from microorganisms (e.g., penicillin from Penicillium)
  • Synthesized by chemists in pharmaceutical companies
• What is the first stage of drug testing called?

  Preclinical testing
• Why is preclinical testing not carried out on humans?

  Because a drug could be extremely toxic
• What is checked during preclinical testing?

  Toxicity, effectiveness, and optimal dosage
• What is the purpose of clinical testing?

  To check safety in humans and find the optimal dose
• What is a placebo?

  A tablet or injection with no active drug in it
• Why are double-blind trials used in drug testing?

  To stop bias in the testing process
• What are the key components of a double-blind trial?

  • Test group receives the active drug
  • Control group receives a placebo
  • Neither patients nor doctors know who receives which treatment
• What are the stages of drug testing from discovery to clinical testing?

  1. Discovery of new medicines (extraction or synthesis)
  2. Preclinical testing (on cells, tissues, or animals)
  3. Clinical testing (initially on healthy volunteers)
  4. Determining optimal dosage and safety in humans