What will your drug achieve? – Drug Development Zone

Question: What will your drug achieve?
- Keywords:
  benefit,
  medicine,
  research
Asked by to Amy, Anita, Daryl, Nimesh, Sandra on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
- Amy Monaghan answered on 19 Jun 2014:
  
  Hi Jonzothebeast (nice name)
  
  I’m hoping to identify a number of compounds that might become drugs in the near future. My main focus at the moment is finding a new drug to treat prostate cancer. This is the most common male cancer in the UK and is increasing, with over 40,000 men diagnosed every year. Although we have some ways of treating prostate cancer, eventually the disease can become resistant. At this stage there are no treatments because we can’t target the right parts of the disease. The cells that I have developed contain proteins responsible for this stage of the disease, known as “castrate resistant prostate cancer”. If we can treat this, we may save many more lives. At the moment around 10,000 men die every year from prostate cancer.
  
  Using the same method I’m also trying to find drugs to treat other hormone regulated diseases. This includes diseases that are currently treated by steroids. Although steroids are useful for reducing inflammation, they can have other side effects such as weakening bones and reducing muscles. Long term use of steroids is very unhealthy. If I can identify drugs that mimic the anti-inflammatory action of steroids without the damaging effects on bone and muscle, this will help suffers of many diseases including Crohn’s disease, arthritis, lupus and vasculitis.
  
  I hope this answers your question
  Amy
- Anita Thomas answered on 19 Jun 2014:
  
  Dear jonzothebeast,
  
  I have designed a treatment that will prevent arteries reblocking (restenosing) after a surgical treatment to unblock them. To do this, I inserted my drug into a very small nanoparticle (this means that I can lots of drug into a sheltered space, so that the drug is not wasted or broken down). I then attach the nanoparticle-drug to an antibody. When I inject the antibody-nanoparticle-drug into somebodies blood, the antibody goes directly to where I want it to go. This means that
  less drug is needed
  the drug stays were it is needed (rather than goes all over the persons body), and
  only one injection is needed (rather than hourly, daily or weekly injections).
  
  All of this means that
  the person has fewer side-effects (from the drug)
  they have a shorter time in hospital, and
  it costs a lot less.
  
  I hope that my antibody-nanoparticle-drug treatment will stop a persons blood vessels from reblocking, and prevent them from having a heart attack or stroke, or having blood cut off from their feet and legs.
- Daryl Jones answered on 19 Jun 2014:
  
  Wassup Jonzo!
  My drug, if it is successful, will cure people of mad cow disease.
  That means anybody infected with mad cow disease will not go on to develop the full symptoms, and it will save their life!
  
  Also, our drugs are being developed for alzheimers disease and parkinsons disease, so if they are successful, we could stop people from losing their memory and getting dementia! Very cool!

Question: What will your drug achieve?

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