drug development

Drug development can be hazardous. Recently, a California court held that product users could sue the drug manufacturer, Gilead, for negligence in failing to commercialize a product different from the one they used. Two conditions are yet to be proven to sustain their claim: that Gilead had actual knowledge the new product was safer and that the decision was solely financially driven. But, even if those facts are proven, they are still not enough to sustain a lawsuit.
Plants can be genetically modified to produce high-value pharmaceuticals, a practice called “biopharming.” Many of these "biopharmed" vaccines and other biologics do not require refrigeration, special handling, or sophisticated medical equipment to distribute them, making them ideal for middle and low-income countries. They are also cheaper to produce than our current methods and can help reduce the increasing costs of biologics. But these products have not yet entered the marketplace in part because of regulatory constraints.
Perhaps someday a ballad will be written about the tragic tale of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and its ugly cousin chloroquine (CQ). HCQ, a potential (and controversial) therapy for COVID-19 at one time, is no more. The FDA revoked the emergency authorization of both HCQ and CQ. This was an example of how NOT to develop a drug. A lesson learned -- or not.
Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are all the rage. Expectations are not only high, they are too high. ACSH friend, and former trustee, Dr. Paul Offit gives us a much-needed reality check. A vaccine, especially a very effective one, is unlikely to be in the cards anytime soon. Although it is always better to prevent an infection than treat one, antiviral drugs are likely to be the tools to control coronavirus well before a vaccine appears.Here's how Dr. Offit sees this playing out.
Metastatic cancer that is unresponsive to chemotherapy is considered incurable. But those days may be numbered, as scientists at the University of North Carolina may have uncovered the perfect system for delivering chemotherapy directly to the site of the cancer -- using a fraction of the conventional dose.
There's a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, where scientists have identified a protein that could potentially clear 80 percent of LDL- or "bad-" cholesterol from the blood stream, without any apparent side effects.
ACSH s Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Josh Bloom, penned a glowing review of Pharmaphobia- How the Conflict of Interest Myth Undermines American Medical Innovation by Dr. Tom Stossel.