• Question: How many evidence-based medicines have you discovered?

    Asked by EvilMadScientist to David on 16 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: David Nunan

      David Nunan answered on 16 Nov 2015:

      Hey (nice name),

      Good question. The answer’s none I’m afraid.

      New drugs are made by drug companies and the scientists who work for them. These new drugs have to go through a long series of tests and experiments to make sure they work but also that they don’t harm us. If they pass all these tests then they can be given to you by your doctor (there’s a nice video about this here: https://vimeo.com/68702006)

      What I do is make sure that the tests that the scientists do on the medicines are good ones and based on good science. This is important because if they are not tested using good science then they may be shown to be good for us but in actual fact they are bad for us.

      This has happened before and caused a lot of people to get harmed so we have to be sure that the medicines work. I teach doctors how to work this out for themselves so they can give the best advice about medicines to their patients.

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