developing drugs

• in preclinical testing, drugs are tested on human cells and tissues in a lab
• the second step in preclinical testing is to test the drug on live animals
• in the UK, new drugs must be tested on two different mammals before being tested on humans
• the first stage of clinical trials is to test the drug on healthy volunteers to see if it is safe
• after being tested on healthy volunteers, a drug can be tested on people with an illness
• clinical trials are often double-blind (neither the doctor nor the patient know if it is real or a placebo)
• a placebo is a substance that looks like the drug but has no effect on the body
• drugs trials aren't published until they are peer reviewed