3.8 - Development of New Medicines

• What does the term ‘efficacy’ mean?

  How well a drug produces the desired effect
• What does the term ‘toxicity‘ mean?

  How harmful a drug is
• What does the term ‘dosage’ mean?

  How much of a drug is required to give the desired effect
• What are the stages of drug development?

  1. Test the drug on human cells and tissues

  Test the drug on live animals

  Test the drug on healthy volunteers to find the maximum dosage before side effects occur

  Test the drug on patients that suffer from the relevant disease, to find the optimum dosage.
• Why is important that new medicinal drugs undergo testing before they are used?

  To make sure they are safe to use

  To make sure they are an effective treatment

  To determine the optimum dosage
• What is a placebo?

  A substance or treatment that has no active drug
• Why is it important for medicinal trials to be double-blind?

  To minimise bias

  If patients know they are given a drug, they may report more side effects

  If researchers know they may pay more attention to the people with the proper drug
• Which tree did the painkiller aspirin come from?

  Willow
• Which flower does the drug digitalis come from?

  Foxgloves