Despite technological advancements, many challenges remain in getting a drug from lab to pharmacy shelf. Reframing what is a “medicine” could expand treatment options for researchers and patients.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Drug development
Displaying 1 - 20 of 91 articles
There hasn’t been a new form of male birth control since the 1980s. More contraception options for all partners could help reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies.
Eye drops might one day be a safe, non-invasive and less costly alternative to cataract surgery.
In silico clinicial trials have the potential to speed up trials and cut costs.
From thalidomide to resveratrol, molecules with the exact same chemical properties can have drastically different effects in the body depending on how they’re arranged in space.
With the dual threats of antibiotic resistance and emerging pandemics, finding new drugs becomes even more urgent. A trove of medicines may be lying under our nose.
Many approved drugs work on the body in ways that researchers still aren’t entirely clear about. Seeing this as an opportunity instead of a flaw may lead to better treatments for complex conditions.
While pills are more practical than injections or infusions, digestion in the stomach prevents many drugs from being taken orally. Better drug design could change this.
From tablets and patches to ointments and infusions, the best way to deliver a drug is the one that gets the right amount to the right place.
Waiving patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines and drugs is still crucial to ensure access globally, but the waiver on the table at the June World Trade Organization meeting doesn’t do the job.
Cell cultures have shown promise in representing diseases. The Petri dish is not as different from a sick person as one might think.
While technological advancements have quickened the drug discovery process, some chemical compounds remain a common thorn in a researcher’s side.
Drug repurposing can redeem failed treatments and squeeze out new uses from others. But many pharmaceutical companies are hesitant to retool existing drugs without a high return on investment.
Drug development is a long and costly process that often ends in failure. Improving the way potential drug candidates are optimized could help boost success rates.
We’ve made a few mistakes in the past two years, when it comes to developing COVID drugs. Some were obvious and could have easily been avoided.
Substances found in algae, squid and fish all have potential antiviral properties.
If no action is taken to address antibiotic resistance, infections from multidrug-resistant bacteria could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050.
Ivermectin has been a lifesaving drug for people with parasitic infections like river blindness and strongyloidiasis. But taking it for COVID-19 may result in the opposite effect.
Dave MacMillon and Ben List both developed simple catalysts that make precise chemical reactions much faster and more efficient.
The path to using old drugs for COVID is full of potholes. So why are we using the same old flawed methods when we actually know what works?
Top contributors
-
Prof. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
-
Professor of Neuroscience, Lancaster University
-
Associate Professor of History, University of Wollongong
-
Professor, UNSW Sydney
-
Biostatistician, The University of Melbourne
-
Senior Lecturer Biostatistics and Data Management, The University of Queensland
-
Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
-
Director of Natural Product Discovery Core; Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan
-
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
-
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
-
Honorary Professor Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Univeristy of Sydney; Senior Researcher Sydney Institue for Infectious Disease, University of Sydney., University of Sydney
-
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney
-
Emeritus Professor of Medical Ethics, The University of Queensland
-
Associate professor, The University of Melbourne
-
Adjunct Professor, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology
