Blockbuster drugs-each of which generates more than a billion
dollars a year in revenue-have revolutionized the industry since
the early 1980s, when sales of Tagamet alone transformed a minor
Philadelphia-based firm into the world's ninth-largest
pharmaceutical company. In Blockbuster Drugs, Jie Jack Li tells the
fascinating stories behind the discovery and development of these
highly lucrative medicines, while also exploring the tumult the
industry now faces as the "patent cliff" nears. Having spent most
of his career in drug research and development, Li brings an
insider's eye to the narrative as he recounts the tales of
discovery behind such drugs as Tagamet, Zantac, Claritin, Prilosec,
Nexium, Serouquel, Plavix, and Ambien. As he discusses each
breakthrough, Li also shows that scientific research is filled with
human drama-serendipitous discoveries, sudden insights, tense
confrontations. For instance, the author tells of James Black, who
persisted in the research that led to Tagamet-and that would
ultimately win him a Nobel Prize-despite pressure from top
executives to pursue "more profitable" work. The book shows how
research behind Prilosec combined creativity, international
cooperation, and luck-the turning point being a chance encounter of
American and Swedish scientists at a conference in Uppsala. There
are also tales of fabulous rewards-George Rieveschl, the chemist
who invented Benadryl, made a fortune on royalties-and of unjust
desserts. Finally, Li shows that for the world's largest
prescription drug manufacturers, recent years have been harrowing,
as many popular drugs have come off patent in the U.S. market,
meaning hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue. Anyone who
enjoys tales of scientific discovery, or is curious about the
history behind the prescriptions they take, or wants a revealing
inside look at the pharmaceutical industry will find this book well
worth reading.
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