History of Drug Discovery

Walter E Sneader, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003090

Until the nineteenth century the only source of medicinal agents was the natural world. The development of synthetic chemistry greatly increased the range of potential medicinal compounds.

Keywords: drugs; history of drugs; drug discovery

 Further Reading
    book Mann J (1996) Murder, Magic, and Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Sneader W (1985) Drug Discovery: the Evolution of Modern Medicines. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
    book Sneader W (1996) Drug Prototypes and their Exploitation. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
    book Weatherall M (1990) In Search of a Cure: a History of the Pharmaceutical Industry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Related Sub-Topics:

Health Care | History
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Article Title: History of Drug Discovery
 
How to Cite close
Sneader, Walter E(Apr 2001) History of Drug Discovery. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003090]