“20 years from the inception of a drug to it hitting the market. And the failure rate is so high! To be quite honest I think that’s a big driver of why drugs are so expensive. ”
Have you ever been sick before? How did you ultimately get better? If it was anything more than a common cold, it probably involved taking some drugs. The miraculous little pills that help us get back on our feet more quickly, or in the case of something more serious, get back on our feet at all.Today we learn about the drugs we take and the people that make them. Emma has the incredibly important job of helping to create molecules that treat cancer, with the goal of one day eradicating it all together.
“Is it okay in someone’s mouth? Will it survive if we inject it? Should we even inject it? How do we deliver this thing? Those are questions we start asking very early in the process.”
“We get these letters of success stories and thank you notes saying, ‘thanks, you gave my Mom another Birthday or another Christmas’ and it’s just so heartwarming.”
Interview Contents
2:40 - What is a scientific associate?
4:05 - What is the end goal of a scientific associate?
8:00 - Working with other brilliant people.
10:00 - The timeline for a drugs release.
10:45 - Drug cost and failure rate.
13:45 - Waiting for success.
14:45 - The timeline for developing a drug.
20:00 - Human trials.
24:30 - Working with other scientific associates.
27:30 - Finding new uses for a drug.
29:30 - The number of drugs being worked on at one time.
30:30 - Placebo effect.
32:30 - The standards for a phase 1 trial.
34:30 - The day to day of a scientific associate.
38:00 - An in-vivo experiment.
48:40 - Side effects.
56:00 - Technology in medicine.
59:45 - Advice.
Links
eslmcintosh@gmail.com (Emma's e-mail address)
THIS EPISODE WAS MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Kevin Cole
Marcus Batson
Roxanna
Michelle & Jim Wortner
Janelle Swanson
Jimmy Seymour
