Search For The NextGen Medicine For Better Future

Would to it be nice to hear that AIDS is incurable no more? That people will not be afraid of cancer anymore? Well, we may be thinking of Utopia here, but it is not far from happening. With the current actions and innovations in the medicine and pharmaceutical world today, this may come true. More and more research and developments are now being conducted in both the academe and the medical laboratories to search and create newer medicines for human diseases. Although on the average, this newly made and invented medicines will take about ten to fifteen years before it goes out in our local pharmacies – we just have to wait for that day to come.

This research and studies on new medicines cover the marine life under the ocean up to the wild herbal plants in the rainforest. Some other pharmaceutical laboratories such as Pfizer spend millions of dollars to invest on new technologies and creations of new medicines. That is why a government-funded survey shows that 90% of top-selling medicines are Pfizer-made. Today, there are over 2900 new medicines that are spread over FDA for review and undergoing clinical trials; although, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has not yet verified this information.

Based on the new released report by PhRMA, there are about 861 medicines to treat cancer patients that are under development. 122 of those are for lung cancer and 107 are for breast cancer; the rest is for other types of cancer. There are about 97 medicines and vaccines being tested today by pharmaceutical researchers for treatment of HIV/AIDS, as well as other related conditions. About 183 new medicines for diabetic patients are now also under study. There are 300 medicines for mental health disorder as well as 547 new neurological medicines in development to cure almost 60 million American adults with said disorders. Also, there are 219 medicines for children’s special healthcare needs and about 1000 medicines for a cure to diseases that only affect women. Some biotechnology researchers are also developing around 633 biotech medicines, which include 254 for cancer, about 162 for diseases that are infectious, about 34 for HIV/AIDS, about 25 for Heart and cardiovascular diseases, about 19 for diabetes, and autoimmune diseases with 59. And lastly, there are more or less 300 under development medicines for rare diseases.

However, before these new medicines will be released to the local pharmacy, there are still series of clinical trials to be conducted to the new medicines to determine if it could pass the standards and safe enough to be taken by patients. The research and development of new medicines undergoes a process to which the medical and pharmaceutical communities follow. This is being subdivided into phases:

Phase I: Trials with healthy volunteers

With this trial, the medicine is being studied for its safety and its interaction to a healthy body, considering the concentration and duration inside the body, particularly in the blood. It will be given at different dosages. This trial will show whether the medicine can cause an adverse effect to the body when other medicines are taken at the same time.

Phase II: Trials with a patient with the disease to treat

Using this trial, the researcher will be able to know if the medicine is effective or not and at what particular dosage it is best, in effect. This is also a phase where researchers observe whether the medicine can also cure other diseases.

Phase III: Large scale trial

In this trial, utmost safety and efficiency is needed. Most of the time, representatives from Food and Drug Authority (FDA) are present in the testing. When the testing is successful, the FDA agents may then approve that the medicine is good and can now be available to patients.

Phase IV: Trials for other uses

Even after the medicine is approved, the research can still continue to look for other uses of the medicine to other illnesses.

In our search for a seemingly perfect world, we will do everything to rid ourselves from suffering due to diseases and illnesses. The effort to develop the next generation of medicines will continue as long as these diseases will not be treated. Therefore, it is only up to us humans to, never stop exploring.