Have you ever wondered how your medication was created? You may have looked at the sticker attached on the bottle of pills, but still wonder how researchers/doctors determined which ingredients to mix together.
Well, if you guessed that these medications are made in a lab, you would be on the right track! Usually, researchers will get grants from the pharmaceutical industry to work on their research in university laboratories. They focus on a smaller lens, meaning that they research about a certain disease on a cellular/molecular level. These researchers want to find the answer, or “key”, to the “lock” that is the disease they are trying to treat. Additionally, researchers must find out whether the medication is safe to use, and what method should the medication be delivered by. Of course, those aren’t the only questions that researchers must consider and solve, and that just shows the scope of what they must do!
Through extensive research, a specific target will be found, and that is where the medication will act on. First, researchers look for natural compounds that can help build the foundation of that medication. Interestingly, if we looked at the periodic table, the most common elements that are used to create medication include C (carbon), H (hydrogen), N (nitrogen), O (oxygen), S (sulfur), F (fluorine), Cl (chlorine) and P (phosphorus)! All medications go through clinical testing/clinical trials to test for side effects and confirm that these medications are safe for use. These tests are conducted on animals, cells, and even computer models! After researchers determine that the test results are satisfactory, these medications are tested on volunteers to further ensure that the medication is safe for use. If you’re curious about participating in a clinical trial, Pfizer recommends checking the National Institutes of Health’s database of clinical trials to find the right one for you: https://clinicaltrials.gov/
Finally, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) takes care of approving/disapproving the medication in addition to monitoring medication safety when it is available to the public.
Phew! A lengthy process, but it helps us recover from a sickness quicker. Sometimes, these processes can take up to 15 years. So, the next time you pick up your medication, you’ll know the hard work researchers put in to get these medicines in your hands! I know I will!
References:
“How Are Drugs Designed and Developed?” Www.yourgenome.org, www.yourgenome.org/theme/how-are-
“How Your Medicines Are Put to the Test | Pfizer.” Www.pfizer.com,
“The Art of Creating New Medicines | Pfizer.” Www.pfizer.com, www.pfizer.com/news/behind-the-
Torjesen, Ingrid. “Drug Development: The Journey of a Medicine from Lab to Shelf.” The Pharmaceutical
Journal, 12 May 2015, pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/drug-development-the-journey-of-a-
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “The Drug Development Process.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 4
Jan. 2018, www.fda.gov/patients/learn-about-drug-and-device-approvals/drug-development-process. Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board