March 9, 2010
by Arvin Moser, Team Manager, Application Scientists, ACD/Labs
Many new medicinal drugs produced by pharmaceutical companies follow a very similar pathway starting from the inception of the project idea and ending at the shelves of a pharmacy. Each stage in the development of the drug involves various types of chemists, each lending their expertise at synthesizing, extracting, analyzing and testing the new drug.
The following diagram presents a simplified summary in the development of a medicinal drug. The general stages are 1. Drug Discovery, 2. Drug Design, 3. Drug Trials and 4. Drug Manufacturing/Process.
Please note that this overview may not apply to all cases.