• Question: Do you think there is a lack a communication between the public and scientists involving drug development?

    Asked by Danielle to Zoe, Sarah, Elaine, David, Aaron on 13 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Zoe Roberts

      Zoe Roberts answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      I don’t think there is a lack of communication as such. I do think scientists could improve the ways by which they explain science to the public so they can engage with it on their level.

      One of my undergraduate lecturers said to me, ‘If you can’t explain what you have done in the lab that day to the cleaner who cleans the lab, in a way they will understand it, you don’t know what you are doing well enough.’

      That’s stuck with me and is the level of understanding I aim for with the work I do. Challenging but important!

    • Photo: Sarah Ashwood

      Sarah Ashwood answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      I think there is. There is a stigma that comes with the world “chemical” because it is automatically seen as negative. News articles rarely mention chemicals unless they are talking about “these nasty chemicals we are exposed too” and that is a big problem.
      Cosmetics and food is constantly being labelled as “chemical free” and that is quite simply not a thing. Nothing is chemical free. Water is H2O, that is a chemical. So people say “natural chemicals” however this isn’t really justified, as heroin – which is a very nasty drug, – is a natural drug which can be extracted from poppies.

      This all comes from a lack of communication, and a lack of understanding between the public and the scientists. People realise that the drugs that we are making are good for them, but they only become aware of them when we put them on the shelves in front of them. If it were more widely communicated what was going on and what companies were prioritising then maybe it would be less of an issue. However that won’t be possible as the industry is too competitive. If you tell everyone what you are working on then they can take your ideas and finish it before you manage it.

      I think the way science and particularly chemistry is portrayed in the media needs to change in order to improve the relationship between drug companies and the public.

    • Photo: David Foley

      David Foley answered on 14 Nov 2014:

      Yes. I think a major problem is headlines saying “Boffins discover cure for X” when what they really mean is “Scientists have identified a new target that could, possibly, eventually lead to a cure for X”.

      This falsely raises hopes of often desperate patients and family and causes a lot of pain in of itself.

      We need to work harder to explain that if we started on a project now, today, 95% of the time it wouldn’t work and if it did, the drug would not be ready for around 15 years

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