A DEEPER LOOK Where Do Drugs Come From

It has been estimated that major pharmaceutical companies in the United States spend some 33 billion per year on drug research and development, while government agencies and private foundations spend another 28 billion. 

What does this money buy For the period 1981 to 2008, the money resulted in a total of 989 new molecular entities (NMEs)—new biologically active chemical substances approved for sale as drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That s an average of only 35 new drugs each year, spread over all diseases and conditions, and the number is steadily falling. In 2008, only 20 NMEs were approved. 

Introduced in June, 2006, Gardasil is the first vaccine ever approved for the prevention of cancer. Where do new drugs like this conte from  

Drug Animal tests. Phase Phase II Phase III NDA Ongoing 

All chemical reactions, whether in the laboratory or in living organisms, follow the same mles. To understand both organic and biological chemistry, it s necessary to know not just what occurs but also why and how chemical reactions take place. In this chapter, we ve taken a brief look at the fundamental kinds of 

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A Comparison Between Biological Reactions and Laboratory Reactions A Deeper Look— Where Do Drugs Come From ... 

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