• Question: Does it take a number of tries before you get the molecule that you want to use?

    Asked by Anna to David on 21 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: David Foley

      David Foley answered on 21 Nov 2014:

      Oh yes. It takes many, many cycles of design, synthesis and testing before we arrive at a molecule with the ideal balance of properties – activity, solubility, stability, toxicity etc. that we can take forward into drug trials. It usually takes 4-5 years to get to this point.

Comments

  • Photo: Sarah

    Sarah commented on :

    Yes. So so so many attempts!! Sometimes even if you know the molecule you’re looking for then you still have to put in a lot of work to actually make it – many many failed reactions have happened because sometimes Chemistry just doesn’t do what you want!!
    Then even when you have a molecule, it might not do exactly what you want, so you have to change sections of it – then repeat the process of “how do we make this” etc.
    This is why it takes so long to go from an “idea” to an actual drug.