- Although the purpose of medicines is to help cure diseases, the main problem is that large financial investments are required for the development of new formulas.
- Dr. Joseph Buchner is considered the creator of the first synthetic drug in history.
- Currently, Covid-19 is by far the top priority for pharmaceutical companies to design new medical treatments.
Throughout history, the pharmaceutical industry has played a highly relevant role. Its professionalization a couple of centuries ago has allowed the development of new drugs that aim to combat a wide range of diseases. In fact, thanks to his work, global life expectancy has been drastically increased.
With this in mind, at the beginning of the 20th century, the hospital infrastructure was quite rudimentary in a large part of the planet. Hospitals were minimal and did not have adequate equipment to care for patients. Back then even problems like diarrhea were deadly.
It was from the 1960s that life expectancy increased by 20 years worldwide. Several factors helped to achieve this, in particular the improvement of health systems and medical advances.
What was the first medicine in history?
For starters, the industry at a professional level is relatively young. In fact, the Dr. Joseph Buchner He is considered the creator of the first synthetic medicine in history. Everything goes back to 1828 when the then professor of the university of munich managed to extract the active ingredient from the willow. In this way he obtained the substance called salicin.
His role completely changed the world because before then the ways of healing were quite limited. All were based on natural remedies and none had scientific support.
Instead, with The arrival of medicines has managed to prevent millions of deaths in the world every year. They are also a central element to improve the quality of life of people and achieve the recovery of the sick. Although as it is such a delicate subject, meticulous care is also required to ensure its proper functioning.
Now, although the Medications are of great help to deal with diseases, the main barrier they must face is financial. The development of a new formula requires large amounts of money and research that lasts for decades.
Another aspect to consider is that not all pathologies receive the same attention. According to an analysis by Statista, currently the top priority is Covid-19. Only during 2021 were allocated $9.2 billion for research and development of vaccines against this new disease.
The same work indicates that the malaria, which was responsible for 619 thousand deaths in 2021, barely attracted financing of 619 million dollars. to the investigation of the hepatitis B it fared even worse with just $16 million in funding, despite the fact that it causes 820,000 deaths annually.
Now, in the case of dengue which is responsible for 36 thousand deaths annually, receives 78 million dollars for the development of new medical treatments. With this, a serious disparity can be appreciated at a global level.
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