stages of drug testing
drug testing
new drugs are constantly being developed.
before given to the general public drugs have to go through a thorough testing procedure to make sure they are safe and effective.
preclinical trials
drugs are tested on human cells and tissues in a lab
Clinical trials
cannot test drugs on cells if it effects the whole body or multiple systems
If the drug passes tests on animals it is then tested on human volunteers.
drugs that affect more than one system must be tested on whole animals
test drug on live animals
animal testing is to test efficacy, whether it works and produces the desired result.
First, the drug is tested on healthy volunteers to make sure it has no harmful side effects on a normal working body.
animal testing is also used to find about its toxicity
If the results are good, it is then tested on people suffering from the illness. The optimum dose is eventually found
in Britain law dictates that every drug must be tested on two different mammals.
Placebo
blind and double blind trials
To test how well the drug works, patients are put randomly into 2 groups.
clinical trials are blind
The importance of drug testing
the patient in the study doesn't know whether they are getting the drug or the placebo
often they are double blind. the doctor and the patient don't know who gets what.
It is important drugs are properly tested
until the results have been collected
this is to prevent doctors from subconsciously influencing the results with their knowledge
An example of them not being properly tested is Thalidomide
One group is given the new drug whereas the other is given a placebo (a substance like the drug that does nothing).
This is so the doctor can see the actual difference the drug makes and allows the placebo effect to occur (when the patient is expecting the drug to do something and therefore feels better, even though the treatment did nothing)
At first, a low volume of the drug is given, and from there it is gradually increased.
looking at dosage