Drugs save lives, and pharmaceutical drugs are the reason that we have vaccines to cure diseases like polio and medications to combat mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. The discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs is ongoing, and breakthroughs occur every day. Researchers have to weigh many factors in the pursuit of new drugs. Things like molecular interactions and binding affinity all have an impact on how effective drug compounds perform.
History shows just how important drugs have been in combating some of humanity’s worst diseases. Here are a few of the most significant pharmaceutical breakthroughs that led to discovery throughout the history of drug development.
1. Insulin
Discovering how insulin works is the most important breakthrough in the history of diabetes. It is a hormone produced in the pancreas that allows cells to use glucose from the blood. It is released into the bloodstream whenever there are high levels of glucose present.
The discovery was made by Drs. Frederick Banting and Charles Best, who were trying to isolate pancreatic extracts to use in treating diabetes. In 1921, they succeeded in extracting insulin from the pancreas of dogs and named it after the Latin word for island, insula.
2. Penicillin
The discovery of penicillin is one of the most important medical discoveries of all time. It has saved millions of lives and is still used today to treat a variety of infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, and syphilis.
The discovery was made by Alexander Fleming, who was working on a new treatment for sepsis. He noticed that a mold had grown on one of his Petri dishes and that the bacteria around it were not growing. He determined that this mold was responsible for killing the bacteria. The discovery of penicillin revolutionized medicine and has saved countless lives since then.
3. Saquinavir
Saquinavir is a drug that was developed to treat HIV/AIDS. It belongs to a class of drugs called protease inhibitors and was released in 1995. It is one of the most widely used drugs to treat HIV and has saved millions of lives since then.
The discovery was made by a pharmaceutical company called Roche. They were working on developing drugs to treat HIV, and they discovered that Saquinavir effectively treated the disease. It was the first drug to be released that specifically targeted HIV.
4. Humira
Humira is a drug that was developed to treat arthritis. It is a biologic released in 2002 and is the best-selling drug globally, generating over $18 billion in sales. It is an anti-TNF (tumor necrosis factor) medication that blocks the action of TNF, which causes inflammation. It is commonly prescribed to patients who have rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease.
5. Chemotherapy Drugs
Chemotherapy drugs are a type of drug that is used to treat cancer. They are some of the most successful drugs ever developed and have saved millions of lives.
The discovery was made by Sidney Farber, who developed a treatment for leukemia. He used chemotherapy drugs to treat the disease and realized that it had cured some of the children in the study. Since then, chemotherapy drugs have saved millions of lives from cancer.
Drugs save lives and have been responsible for some of the most important medical discoveries in history. They have been responsible for curing many of humanity’s deadliest diseases and will continue to do so in the future.
Sources:
https://cellohealth.com/views/15-breakthrough-drug-innovations/
https://www.proclinical.com/blogs/2016-6/top-10-most-important-drugs-in-history
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6205949/
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/flemingpenicillin.html
