1957 Thalidomide disaster revolutionised the drug industry. As an over-the-counter medicine, Thalidomide has been sold in 46 countries, starting with Germany, and has soon become popular among the sedatives available at the time. Moreover, it was discovered to lessen morning sickness which led to doctors recommending it to pregnant patients. Four years later, in 1961, the drug was associated with severe side affects. Babies were born with phocomelia, a condition involving the malformation or absence of the limbs. During the following months, the drug has been banned in all countries. However, it was too late for the patients who have already taken the medicine so that within a few years, approximately 10,000 newborns suffering from phocomelia
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Over the years, the drug development process has evolved to be as complex as it is nowadays. However, complex does not mean perfect, which is why today's developing program has still got its drawbacks. The most challenging one is that, with increased number of stages that demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a compound, the length of action also increased. As a result, it now takes ten to twelve years for a drug to make it to the market. Yet, what is really alarming is that a considerable amount of programs are abandoned before they are completed.
Research shows that cancer pharmacology is particulary affected by the complexity of the drug discovery process. Oncology has been found to have one of the lowest likelyhood of developing a successful drug and bringing it to the market.
The project argues whether pharmaceutical companies take too long to bring a drug to the market and questions the fate of the numerous compounds entering the clinical trials. Despite the fact that research is constantly being carried out, anticancer drugs are still designed following the same old model. An introductive description of the drug development process is included. By understanding the process and by looking at the failure/success rates, the aim is to identify the stages where anticancer drugs fail to meet the expected standards. The costs are also analysed, as well as how they influence the decision of approval of health
Over the years, the drug development process has evolved to be as complex as it is nowadays. However, complex does not mean perfect, which is why today's developing program has still got its drawbacks. The most challenging one is that, with increased number of stages that demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a compound, the length of action also increased. As a result, it now takes ten to twelve years for a drug to make it to the market. Yet, what is really alarming is that a considerable amount of programs are abandoned before they are completed.
Research shows that cancer pharmacology is particulary affected by the complexity of the drug discovery process. Oncology has been found to have one of the lowest likelyhood of developing a successful drug and bringing it to the market.
The project argues whether pharmaceutical companies take too long to bring a drug to the market and questions the fate of the numerous compounds entering the clinical trials. Despite the fact that research is constantly being carried out, anticancer drugs are still designed following the same old model. An introductive description of the drug development process is included. By understanding the process and by looking at the failure/success rates, the aim is to identify the stages where anticancer drugs fail to meet the expected standards. The costs are also analysed, as well as how they influence the decision of approval of health