Free Developing New Medicines OCR A Level Biology revision notes – covering specification point 4.1.1(m).
Want to go deeper?
The need for new medicines
New drugs are constantly required because:
- New diseases continue to emerge (e.g. SARS, Ebola, COVID-19)
- Existing diseases still lack effective cures (e.g. Alzheimer’s, cancer)
- Antimicrobial resistance makes current treatments less effective (e.g. MRSA)
New drugs can be discovered through different approaches:
| Approach | Description |
|---|---|
| Traditional remedies | Traditionally used plants may have active ingredients. |
| Wildlife observation | Animals and insects utilise plants to treat and prevent infectious disease, which can be investigated for new biomolecules. |
| Disease mechanisms | Researching the exact mechanisms of infection and disease creates insights that can be exploited with the development of new biomolecules. |
| Synthetic biology | Organisms can be genetically engineered to produce medicines, or entirely new biomolecules can be designed and created. |
| Personalised medicine | Existing medicines can be tailored using information on an individual’s genetics and metabolism, reducing side effects and increasing effectiveness. |
Drug discovery is a strong argument for the conservation of biodiversity, as unexplored ecosystems may contain undiscovered compounds with medicinal value.