Articles by Sean
FDA Priority Review Vouchers Provide Hope For Patients With Rare and Neglected Diseases
Remember those ‘get out of jail free’ cards in the board game Monopoly, with somewhat dubious value (i.e. you’d always sell them right before you landed in jail) that could get you back in the game quicker? It turns out that such an express ticket exists in the drug discovery world, and we’ll take you along for the multi-million dollar ride. […]
The True Story of Drug Detective Frances Kelsey
What is the role of regulation in drug development? It may seem like a big obstacle in the path to discovering and delivering novel medicines to patients, potentially delaying treatment and prolonging their discomfort. This is the true story of how Frances Kelsey dared to challenge the safety and efficacy of thalidomide, becoming a national heroine in the process. […]
The Process and Costs of Drug Development (2022)
For a new drug entering the market in 2022, the costs behind its approval averages US$2 billion. In addition, the drug development process takes around 14 years of research and regulatory procedures before it is approved for sale. Despite this massive investment, pharmaceutical companies and research institutes continue developing new drugs to save and improve lives. We take a comprehensive look at the process and costs of drug development—how new drugs make their way from the lab bench to the pharmacy shelf. […]
How To Date A Dinosaur (Fossil) with Radiometric Dating
No, not that kind of dating… Rather, ‘dating’ a dinosaur bone dug out of the ground involves a series of processes that allow us to estimate its age on this Earth. This helps us to understand how that species fits into the evolutionary tree of change. When did a species first appear and when did the last of their kind walk this Earth? Let’s look at radiometric dating and how this technology is used in dating fossils millions of years old! […]
What’s the Big Deal About Gene Therapy?
In recent years, pharmaceutical companies and research institutes have invested heavily in gene therapy research. The main reason for this is the immense potential to create cures for supposedly incurable genetic diseases. Targeting the source of diseases at the genetic level is ingenious, as all biochemical processes in our bodies are governed by our genes. With recent successes in drug development, the number and scope of gene therapies look set to increase in the near future. […]
Sean is a consultant for clients in the pharmaceutical industry and is a lecturer at a local university, where unfortunate undergrads are subject to his ramblings on chemistry and pharmacology.
