Discovery and Development of Drugs

Question 1

What are 4 different types of drugs?

Answer 1

Digitalis
Aspirin
Morphine
Penicillin

Question 2

What is digitalis and where does it originate from?

Answer 2

Digitalis is heart medication, and originates from foxgloves

Question 3

What is aspirin and where does it originate from?

Answer 3

Aspirin is a pain killer, and originates from willow tree bark

Question 4

What is morphine and where does it originate from?

Answer 4

Morphine is a painkiller, and originates from poppy seeds

Question 5

Where does Penicillium originate from?

Answer 5

It originates from penicillium mould

Question 6

Why do we need to test a drug before they are prescribed to the public?

Answer 6

-Toxicity
-Efficacy
-Disage

Question 7

What is meant by toxicity?

Answer 7

-Drugs can be toxic and have significant side effects

Question 8

What is meant by efficacy?

Answer 8

How effective it is at curing disease / relieving symptoms

Question 9

What is meant by dosage?

Answer 9

What is the appropriate amount for best efficacy with least toxicity

Question 10

What is Stage 1 of drug testing?

Answer 10

Pre Clinical testing

Question 11

What happens in Phase 1 of Pre Clinical testing?

Answer 11

The drugs are tested on human cells and tissues in a lab

Question 12

What is the issue with Phase 1 of Pre clinical testing?

Answer 12

You don’t know how effective it will be on whole system at this point

Question 13

What happens in Phase 2 of Pre Clinical testing?

Answer 13

The drugs are tested on live animals

Question 14

Why is it good to test on live animals in Phase 2 of Pre Clinical testing?

Answer 14

This allows you to test for toxicity, efficacy and dosage for the drug

-It is also law in the UK to test on 2 live animals

Question 15

What is Stage 2 of Drug testing?

Answer 15

Clinical Trials

Question 16

What is Phase 1 of Clinical Trials?

Answer 16

Small-scale trials on healthy individuals

Question 17

What is Phase 2 of Clinical Trials?

Answer 17

Medium-Scale trials on people affected by the target disease

Question 18

What is Phase 3 of Clinical Trials?

Answer 18

Large-scale trials on people affected by the disease plus an application for licensing

Question 19

What is Phase 4 of Clinical Trials?

Answer 19

The drug is licensed and prescribed for general use

Question 20

What is Stage 3 of drug testing?

Answer 20

Post-Market Survelliance

Question 21

What happens in Post-Market Surveillance (stage 3 of drug testing)

Answer 21

-Once a drug has been prescribed to general public, regular feedback is given by doctors and patients. The findings of trial can be published once peer reviewed.

Question 22

How long on average does it take for a drug to be licensed?

Answer 22

12 years

Question 23

What is thalidomide?

Answer 23

When testing wasn’t as great as it is now, thalidomide was created to prevent morning sickness in pregnancies. However, it was not tested on anyone pregnant, this lead to women who took this giving birth to babies with severe limb deformities.

Question 24

What happened as a result of the thalidomide incident?

Answer 24

Drugs in the process of being made now have to be tested on 1-2 pregnant animals.