Drug Development  

1) Determination of the need for a drug

• Is there are a market, are there already treatments? 

2) Finding the structure 

• Spectroscopy, analysis and robotics can be used to test compounds

3) Drug Synthesis 

• Time consumption, length, yield
• Chemists looks for ways to increase yield and reduce stages 

4) Extraction of final product 

• The drug must be extracted from the mixture, and purified 

Ways in which viruses differ from bacteria in IB chemistry curriculum: 

• Posess no classic cell structure (organelles, cell wall etc)
• Much smaller than bacteria 
• Need a living host cell to reproduce 
• Exhibit no metabolic functions 
• Contain only simple genetic information 
• Viruses multiply and mutate rapidly 
• Viruses are always parasitic 

Challenges with creating antiviral drugs: 

• Lack of structure means fewer targets for the drug
• Difficult to kill virus without damaging host cell
• Rapid mutation causes durgs to become obsolete 

1) An alteration of the host cell's genetic information so the virus can't multiply 

• Aciclovir used to treat herpes, used as a building block to inhibit replication 

2) Inhibition of enzyme activity preventing reproduction 

• AZT used to treat HIV, inhibits RNA to DNA enzyme. 
• Oseltamivir and Zanamivir used to treat flu in IB chemistry

• HIV mutates very rapidly meaning it develops resistance quickly 
• HIV cannot be targeted without harming the host cell
• HIV destroys helper T-cells which are part of the immune system 
• Social and Economic barriers 
  • Lifestyle choices 
  • Poor countries 
  • Education is minimal in certain areas 

End of this topic!

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