B6f Drug development Flashcards
Give an example of an antibiotic
Penicillin
Which type of pathogen can be killed by antibiotics
Bacteria only
How do antibiotics treat disease?
Kills bacteria inside the body
Can antibiotics be used to kill viruses?
No
Name two diseases that can be treated using antibiotics
Salmonella
Gonorrhoea
Why must you finish an course of antibiotics?
Reduces the number of resistant strains of bacteria
Do painkillers destroy pathogens?
No
What do painkillers do?
Treat symptoms ie reduce pain
What is the drug digitalis used to treat?
Heart conditions
Why is it difficult to develop drugs that kill viruses?
Viruses live inside human cells
The drug will also damage human cells
What plant is the heart drug digitalis extracted from?
Foxgloves
What painkiller originates from a chemical found in willow bark?
Aspirin
Who discovered the drug penicillin?
Alexander Fleming
Name the organism that makes penicillin
Penicillium mould (fungus)
How are most new drugs made?
By chemists in the pharmaceutical industry