Hallelujah Moments

Pharmeceutical drug discovery has wide-reaching and obvious effects on the lives of people everywhere, and yet the general public knows very little about the way in which these important products are conceived. We rely on pharmaceuticals to keep us healthy in countless ways, with almost no understanding of the process behind the creation of the drugs we use. in Hallelujah Moments, Eugene Cordes reveals just how some of the most important and influential drugs are made. He shares his firsthand knowledge of the drug-discovery world, having spent a long and distinguished career on both the academic and industrial side of pharmaceutical research. These tales are "adventure stories," and they follow important drugs like Proscar, Capoten, and Mevacor from the idea stage all the way to the point of being made publicly available. Cordes shows us the dynamic and critical thinking needed to create a useful drug, and the human stories of risk-taking, problem-solving, and, in many cases, failure. Written accessibly for a non-scientist audience, Hallelujah Moments brings the general public up to speed on the fascinating world of drug discovery like never before. "Gene Cordes gives us an interesting and uncommonly clear insight into the scientifically complex world of drug discovery, using common vocabulary. This is a great read for all who are interested in the pharmaceutical industry." -- Paul S. Anderson, PhD, former President of the American ChemicalSociety and Senior Vice-President for Chemistry and Physical Sciences at Dupont-Merck Pharmaceuticals"Every new drug is a miracle. Cordes brings us up close to the stories of the discovery and development of a few of these medical miracles, patiently but briskly providing the basic technical background (...starting from "what is H[2O") before launching into the human stories of medical innovation in a masterful context of understandable and thrilling science. This book is a hallelujah moment." -- Joshua Boger, PhD, Founder, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc."Writing in a conversational style aimed at a broad (non-specialist) audience, Cordes explains the hugely complex, sometimes elegant, and mostly messy process of discovering and developing new medicines. Each chapter, or drug biography, is a tribute to the scientists - oftentimes just a single scientist - who refused to give up despite having to overcome manifold emergent problems along the way. In addition to the sense of adventure, this is information that all should know." -- David Pompliano PhD, former CEO of BioLeap LLC, and Vice-President, Merck Research Laboratories"This work, told from an inside master, reveals how drug discovery is changing dramatically and for the better...all while engaging the reader with humor and science, sagacity and insight, personality and precision. Dr. Cordes presents a wonderful picture of how good science is transformed into the creation of life-saving pharmaceuticals. A special book for the interested reader, the student, and the professional all wrapped up in one." -- Robert Darnell, MD-PhD, President of the New York Genome CenterTable of Contents ; Chapter 1: Seduced by drug discovery ; Chapter 2: The small molecules of life ; Chapter 3: Proteins: molecular wonders in three dimensions ; Chapter 4. Proteins perform multiple functions: enzymes, receptors, ion channels ; Chapter 5: Drug discovery and development: the road from an idea to promoting ; human health ; Chapter 6: Finasteride: the Gary and Jerry show ; Chapter 7: Basic research, snake venoms, and ACE inhibitors: Ondetti, Cushman, and ; Patchett ; Chapter 8: Statins: protection against heart attacks and strokes ; Chapter 9: The perils of Primaxin ; Chapter 10: Avermectins: molecules of life battle parasites ; Chapter 11: Fludalanine: nice try but no hallelujah ; Chapter 12: Diabetes Breakthrough: Januvia and Janumet