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Flashcards · Biology · Defence Against Disease

Discovery and Development of Drugs

16 cards

  1. Name a drug that comes from foxgloves.

    Digitalis, a heart drug.

  2. Which painkiller originates from willow?

    Aspirin.

  3. Who discovered penicillin?

    Alexander Fleming.

  4. Which mould makes penicillin?

    Penicillium.

  5. How are most new drugs made today?

    They are synthesised by chemists in the pharmaceutical industry.

  6. What three things are new drugs tested for?

    Toxicity, efficacy and dose.

  7. What is toxicity?

    How harmful the drug is.

  8. What is efficacy?

    Whether the drug works.

  9. What is preclinical testing?

    Testing in the laboratory using cells, tissues and live animals.

  10. Who is in the first stage of a clinical trial?

    Healthy volunteers, at a very low dose.

  11. Why do later trials use patients?

    To find the best dose and to check that the drug works.

  12. What is a placebo?

    A dummy treatment with no drug in it.

  13. What is a double-blind trial?

    A trial where neither the patients nor the doctors know who has the real drug.

  14. Why use a double-blind trial?

    To stop patients' or doctors' expectations affecting the results.

  15. What is peer review?

    Other scientists checking the results before they are published.

  16. A five-stage pipeline with no labels. Describe each stage in developing a new drug. The same pipeline with each stage labelled.

    1 Discovery. 2 Preclinical testing on cells, tissues and animals. 3 Safety trial with healthy volunteers at a very low dose. 4 Patient trials to find the best dose and check it works. 5 Peer review and use.