Developing drugs

Question 1

What are the 3 main stages in creating drugs

Answer 1

1) Test the drug on human cells and tissues (preclinical)
2) Test the drug on live animals (preclinical)
3) Test the drug on human volunteers (clinical)

Question 2

Why is in not enough to just test the drug on a few human cells or tissues

Answer 2

The drug may affect the whole body or multiple systems. Therefore we need to test the drug on a whole animal in order to see its effect on the system/systems

Question 3

Give an example of a drug that needs to be tested on a whole animal

Answer 3

A drug that deal with blood pressure because it needs to be tested on an animal with an intact circulatory system

Question 4

What are the 3 main things that people want to fin out when they test a drug on a whole animal

Answer 4

1) The efficiency of the drug
2) The toxicity of the drug
3) The best dosage for the drug

Question 5

What is the efficacy of a drug

Answer 5

Whether/how effectively the drug works and produces the effect you are looking for

Question 6

What is the toxicity of a drug

Answer 6

How harmful it is

Question 7

What is the best dosage for a drug

Answer 7

The concentration that should be given and how often it should be given

Question 8

What does the law in Britain state about the testing of drugs on live animals

Answer 8

That any new drug must be tested on two different live mammals

Question 9

What are 2 different views for testing drugs on live animals

Answer 9

1) It is cruel that drugs - that people are not sure weather they are safe or not - are tested on animals
2) Giving drugs to animals is the safest way people can ensure that they are safe or not before giving it to humans

Question 10

What is the first stage of human testing

Answer 10

The drug is tested on healthy volunteers to make sure that it doesn’t have any harmful side effects. A the start of the trial a very low dosage is used and then gradually increased

Question 11

If the results of the tests on healthy volunteers show no side effects, what happens next

Answer 11

The drug can be tested on people suffering from the illness

Question 12

What is found when a drug is first tested on people suffering from an illness

Answer 12

The optimum dosage. This means dose of the drug that is most effective and has the least side effects

Question 13

What is the optimum dosage

Answer 13

The dose of the drug that is most effective and has the least side effects

Question 14

What is done during the testing stage to ensure it is the drug which is making the patient feel better

Answer 14

The test subjects are randomly put into two groups - One is given the new drug and one is given a placebo

Question 15

What is a placebo

Answer 15

A substance which is like the drug being tested but doesn’t do anything e.g. a sugar pill

Question 16

Why are some of the subjects given a placebo

Answer 16

To test the actual difference the drug makes and ensure that nothing else is responsible for the patients feeling better

Question 17

What is the placebo effect

Answer 17

When the patient expects the treatment to work and so feels better even though the treatment isn’t doing anything

Question 18

What is a blind trial

Answer 18

A blind trial is when the patient doesn’t know weather they are getting the drug or a placebo

Question 19

What is a double blind trial

Answer 19

A double blind trial is when neither the patient or the doctor know is they are getting/administrating the drug or a placebo

Question 20

What is the point in a double blind trial

Answer 20

It ensures the doctors monitoring the patients aren’t subconsciously influenced by their knowledge

Question 21

What happens if a drug passes all its trial

Answer 21

The results go through peer review. If the results are approved, then the results will be published

Question 22

Why are the results first peer reviewed before being published

Answer 22

To prevent false claims