3.1.9 Descovery And Development Of Drugs Flashcards
Where were drugs traditionally extracted from?
Plants and microorganisms like mould
☆ What drugs have been extracted from plants? (3p)
- Digitalis from foxgloves
- Aspirin from bark of willow trees
- Penicillin from penicillium mold
Who discovered penicillin?
Alexander Fleming in 1928
Where might medicines coke from in the future?(2p)
- synthesised by research chemists
- extracting chemicals from a plant or microorganism
Characteristic of a good medicine?(3p)
-Effective
- Safe
- Stable
Effective medicine
Medicine that prevents or cures a disease
Safe medicine
Medicine that isn’t too toxic or has bad side effects
Stable medicine
Medicine that can be stored easily
Placebo (2p)
- A substance that has no therapeutic effects
- Is used as a control in testing new drugs
Double blind trial
- When neither the tests subject(human) or the researcher administering the study knows whether the test subject is receiving the experiment treatment or the placebo
Why is ‘double blind’ trial and placebo important to ensure the validity of trial results? (3p)
- Neither party can make expectations on the results
- Stops researchers from fixing results
- Ensures that the control and experiment group both experience placebo effect to the same extent
Stages of drug trials (8p)
1- Decide which disease to treat
2- Look at natural remedies that already exist and analyse them
3- Synthesise lots of chemical in the lab
4- Screen drugs
5- Test drugs on animals
6- Test drugs on healthy people
7- Test drugs on actual patients
8- Drug is licensed for use by doctors
Why are drug trials expensive (2p)
- Trial and error
- Thorough research
Phases of clinical trials (3p)
1) Healthy humans
2) Some diseased people
3) Lots of diseased people
Phases of preclinical trials? (3p)
1) tested on cells
2) tested on tissues
3) tested on live animals
