The Statins

Topic:David Moore's Medical Mycology Blog

The story of the statin based drugs provides an interesting insight into the discovery and development of modern pharmaceuticals. As well as looking at the complexity of the technology and science involved, this Special Studies Module also looks at the time and resources that must be devoted to developing a marketable drug from an initial concept. Whilst the pharmacology of a specific family of drugs might be similar, small differences in molecular composition, and human physiology can substantially alter the overall effectiveness of the drug, and even classes of patient in which the drug might be of use.

Given the cost of development, many drugs will become unaffordable to a large proportion of the world population, even if the cost seems reasonable in terms of suffering and the palliative care that might have to be offered in their place. The problem of cost may also be exasperated as the development and marketing of new drugs often seems to be in the control of a handful of large multinational companies.

Diagnosis – research resources