MP1 The pharmaceutical industry Flashcards
(29 cards)
what plant is digoxin isolated from and what does it treat?
foxglove
heart failure
what plant is morphine isolated from and what does it treat?
opium poppy
painkiller
what plant is quinine isolated from and what does it treat?
cinchona bark
anti-malaria
describe and explain an example of when a drug has been chemically modified to obtain a ‘better drug’
- morphine is transformed into diacetylmorphine which is better known as heroin
- in the past, heroin has been recommended as a cough medicine for children before we were aware of addictive properties
who was the first ‘antibiotic’ discovered by and what was it?
- Ehrlich, 1909
- Salvarsan (arsenic compound derived from dyes)
- only used for a few years as it had lots of side effects
- first effective drug against syphilis
when was penicillin discovered, who by and when was it first used in clinic?
- discovered 1928
- by Alexander Fleming
- first used in the clinic in 1938 due to tricky synthesis
when was the discovery of the first sulphonamide and who made the discovery?
Bayer in 1932
describe Prontosil in terms of what happens to it in the body and when this was discovered
- cleaved (split) in the body
- it is a pro-drug
- discovered in 1937
what is meant by a pro-drug?
a compound with no physiological activity as itself but it is then converted into a drug in the body
different classes of sulphonamides have been developed for various conditions. name some
high blood pressure
diabetes
glaucoma
what is meant by the ‘Golden Age’?
- emergence of the modern pharmaceutical industry post WW2 (advances in chemical synthesis, microbiology, pharmacology)
- development of new drugs at an astonishing rate (1940s-60s)
describe the Thalidomide disaster
- drug was licensed for OTC sales in 1956 after only being tested on rats (if tested in rabbits, the effects would have been obvious)
- marketed to pregnant women
- reduced morning sickness
- caused birth defects (small limbs)
- more than 10 000 babies affected and half of these died within 1 year of life
what is a word to describe thalidomide?
teratogenic
(harmful to foetuses)
describe the aftermath of the thalidomide disaster
- removed from market in 1961
- long criminal trial (conclusion and punishment decided 40 years later)
- tougher testing and approval procedures for new drugs in many countries
- pharmaceutical industry gained a bad reputation
describe the pharmaceutical industry today
- dominated by huge companies with different sites in several countries (BIG PHARMAs)
- mergers and takeovers to create conglomerates
state an example of a pharmaceutical company made from merging
GSK
what is a blockbuster in the pharmaceutical industry and state an example of one
- pharmaceutical companies usually make large sales from 1-3 ‘blockbusters’
- eg. Pfizer has Viagra and the covid vaccine which were their blockbusters
state some challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry
- tight regulatory controls on development, testing, approval, marketing
- huge research and development costs
- very long and high-risk development process
- short patent life
- ‘generic drugs’
- success depends on constant innovation
tight regulatory controls on development, testing, approval and marketing is a challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry. explain this.
- requirement for strong evidence of efficacy, safety and quality
- extensive documents must be submitted to government regulatory agencies before first tests in humans and before market authorisation
huge research and development costs are a challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry. explain this.
- $100s of millions needed to bring a new drug to the market
- mergers to share costs, resources, facilities etc.
- automation to decrease costs (used to screen and test drugs)
- outsourcing specialist testing to smaller specialised companies (called CRO / Contract Research Organisations)
being very long and high-risk development process is a challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry. explain this.
- takes 10-15 years
- 1 successful drug out of 10 000 compounds screened
short patent life is a challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry. explain this.
- intellectual property (gives exclusive rights of commercialisation in ONE country)
- typically lasts 20 years - only 5-10 years to make profits
- need to apply for a patent early to avoid other companies copying them but the drug may not even end up getting commercialised
- once patent has expired, other companies can copy the drug
generic drugs are a challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry. explain this.
- copies of the drug by other companies after patent has expired
- less expensive, preferred by governments, less profit for the innovator company
success depending on constant innovation is a challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry. explain this.
- ‘blockbusters’ are wanted BUT
- competition from other companies
- more and more difficult to discover new innovative drugs
