Sir James Black: The Man Who Changed Drug Development

Abstract

What is difficult about creating a new drug? In recent times, developing a new drug is based on understanding the specific processes of the disease the drug is meant to treat. However, this was not always the case. Drugs used to be discovered by a trial-and-error process, in which chemists tinkered with chemicals and hoped for success. How did we move from that inefficient method to the method we use today? Sir James Black is the father of two important medicines, propranolol (to treat high blood pressure) and cimetidine (to treat stomach ulcers). By focusing on what was causing those diseases, Black helped to transform drug development into the modern, efficient process we have today. How did a boy who came from a mining community in Scotland grow up to become the father of modern drug development? Keep reading to find out!