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An early example of what today would be labelled a 'designer drug' was LSD, which was synthesised from ergot. [34] Other examples include analogs of performance-enhancing drugs such as designer steroids taken to improve physical capabilities; these are sometimes used (legally or not) for this purpose, often by professional athletes. [ 35 ]
In the US, where a system of quasi-private healthcare is in place, a formulary is a list of prescription drugs available to enrollees, and a tiered formulary provides financial incentives for patients to select lower-cost drugs. For example, under a 3-tier formulary, the first tier typically includes generic drugs with the lowest cost sharing ...
The drug (active substance) itself needs to be soluble in aqueous solution at a controlled rate. Such factors as particle size and crystal form can significantly affect dissolution. Fast dissolution is not always ideal. For example, slow dissolution rates can prolong the duration of action or avoid initial high plasma levels.
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy ) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on ...
For drugs that make it all the way through development, testing, and regulatory acceptance, the pharmaceutical company then gives the drug a trade name, which is a standard term in the pharmaceutical industry for a brand name or trademark name. For example, Lipitor is Pfizer's trade name for atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering medication. Many ...
One area of compounding is preparing drugs in new dosage forms. For example, if a drug manufacturer only provides a drug as a tablet, a compounding pharmacist might make a medicated lollipop that contains the drug. Patients who have difficulty swallowing the tablet may prefer to suck the medicated lollipop instead.
Brand name drugs cost more due to time, money, and resources that drug companies invest in them to conduct development, including clinical trials that the FDA requires for the drug to be marketed. [28] Because drug companies have to invest more in research costs to do this, brand name drug prices are much higher when sold to consumers. [28]
Some drugs are absorbed better in certain parts of the digestive system. If this part is the stomach, a coating is selected that dissolves quickly and easily in acid. If the rate of absorption is best in the large intestine or colon, a coating is used that is acid resistant and dissolves slowly to ensure that the tablet reaches that point ...