Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery And Development To Aid Future Generations

The process of drug discovery and development is a long and arduous task

, involving some of the worlds best scientists and doctors. Drug discovery has advanced considerably over the last few decades, with the invention of important drugs that are now used to treat and even cure some of the worst diseases known to man.

For instance, without the discovery of antiretroviral drugs the treatment for HIV would still be non-existent. Though there is still no actual cure for HIV these drugs go a long way to lengthening the sufferers lives and easing their pain somewhat. The first antiretroviral drug to be approved for HIV treatment was Zidovudine in 1987.

New drugs are being researched and developed every day in every part of the world. Many of todays pandemic illnesses are targets for drug research, with HIV and AIDS being at the top of the list. At the same time, research is also going into the diseases themselves, which helps in the advancement of drugs. The more scientists know about the disease they are attempting to cure the better they will be able to develop drugs.

Though not actually classed as a pandemic disease, cancer is also viewed as an increasingly serious cause of death around the world. In 2008 alone more than 12.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer in various parts of the world and 7.8 million of those diagnoses resulted in death. As every cancer is different a new drug needs to be developed for each cancer, and there are more than 200 types known.

A lot of cancer drug research goes into chemotherapy, with the first chemotherapy drugs for cancer being dated back to the 1940s. In recent years the idea of targeted cancer therapies has been heavily researched. This type of treatment includes drugs that aim to block cancer cells rather than focusing on rapidly dividing cells like traditional chemotherapy does. Already there are literally thousands of cancer drugs available, with each one working in a different way for the treatment of various cancers.

When a new drug is being created drug trials are carried out to ascertain the effectiveness of it. Patients are able to enter these drug trials in the hope of benefiting from them, and they are incredibly important in the creation of new drugs.

If you are currently researching, developing or testing a drug for one of the many millions of diseases in the world today you will undoubtedly understand the importance of your work. The creation of new drugs, either for the treatment or cure of illnesses, is one of the most important advances in medical science to date.

by: Alan Trotter

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