Drug discovery, development, and delivery encompass the process of bringing new medications
from the early stages of research to their availability for patient use. It involves
a series of coordinated steps and scientific efforts aimed at identifying and developing
safe and effective drugs to treat various diseases. The steps include:
Drug Discovery - Identify and design prospective drug compounds that have the potential to interact
with specific disease targets or pathways. Researchers may use computational modeling,
high-throughput screening and natural product isolation to identify promising compounds
that exhibit therapeutic properties.
Drug Development - Once potential drug candidates are identified, they undergo extensive testing in
preclinical studies. These studies assess the safety, pharmacokinetics (how the drug
is absorbed, distributed, metabolized and eliminated by the body), and efficacy of
the compounds in animal models.
Clinical Trials - Clinical trials are conducted in several phases to evaluate the safety and effectiveness
of the drug in larger populations. Researchers test the drug's safety, dosage, and
effectiveness in human volunteers in several phases that increase the number of participants
and monitoring details.
Regulatory Approval - Following successful clinical trials, drug developers submit an application to
regulatory authorities for approval to market the drug. Regulatory agencies review
the data from preclinical and clinical studies to ensure the drug's safety, efficacy,
and quality meet established safety standards.
Drug Delivery - Drug delivery refers to the mechanisms and methods used to administer drugs to
patients. Drug delivery systems can include oral tablets, injectables, transdermal
patches, inhalers or other specialized devices.