Developing Drugs

• What are the four stages of testing drugs?

  • Testing on human cells and tissues
  • Testing on live animals
  • Testing on healthy human volunteers
  • Testing on infected people
• What type of drugs can not be tested on human cells and tissues?


  Drugs which test whole or multiple body systems like blood pressure drugs
• What three things are tested during drug testing?

  • Efficacy
  • Toxicity
  • Dosage
• What is efficacy?


  Whether or not the drug works and has the desired effect
• What is toxicity?


  How harmful the drug is
• What is dosage?


  The concentration of drug that should be administered and how often it should be given
• What is the law in Britain concerning testing on live animals?

  Drugs must be tested on two different mammals
• What is a placebo?


  A pill which actually contains no drug
• Why are placebos used in blind tests?

  To see if the drug has an effect compared to people who haven't taken it
• Why are double-blind tests used in clinical testing?

  To reduce subconscious bias for the doctors
• What must drug test results go through before being published?

  Peer review