Pharmaceutical Evaluation of New Drugs

The aim of preclinical testing is to understand the therapeutic usefulness and toxicity profile. It has been estimated that the cost of developing an NCE is 350,000,000. Presently in India, we have nearly 75,000 formulations concerned with various drugs. The basic question is, Do we need drugsl 

The answer is yes because there are reported nearly 30,000 diseases or disorders, and only 10,000 of these can be presently treated. This more than justifies the need to develop new drugs. NCEs are required, as drug therapy is unsatisfactory for viral diseases, cancer, and various skin diseases. 

Does this mean that we are drugging ourselves to death, as there are thousands of formulations available in the market, some rational and most irrational. There is no single drug that is available as safe, and according to Paracelsus, safe drug never was and never will be. Drug discovery has tried various approaches to find an NCE, for example  

Rational drug design Me too drugs Folk medicine Molecular modeling Planned research Natural product 

Out of these approaches, imaginative concepts will yield a better NCE. 

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