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Lundbeck Magazine 2009
43
700 million in the world
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 700 million
cases of disorders of the central nervous system are reported each year. These
are serious and life-threatening illnesses that affect not only patients’ quality of
life, but also that of their families and friends. For society in general, the major
economic consequences caused by these conditions make it important to
develop new and innovative drugs. During the past 50 years, novel drugs have
revolutionized the possibilities of treatment. However, there is still a huge
unmet need for new and innovative drugs.
From idea to drug candidate
More than 480 persons are employed at the Lundbeck research
units in Denmark and the United States. The basis for a new and
innovative drug is deep insight into the disorder itself, and into the
unmet needs of patients. The process takes between three and five
years, during which researchers work to identify where in the
human organism a new drug must act and to test substances for
any efficacy, side effects and toxicity. If a substance passes all of
these tests, it becomes a drug candidate.
From candidate to approved drug
Lundbeck has development activities in some 40 countries around the world.
800 employees are involved in development activities which are necessary
for a drug to be approved. First, a substance is tested in healthy persons for
its tolerability, assimilation and distribution in the body. Following this, its
efficacy and side-effect profiles are tested in a small group of patients. In the
third and decisive phase, the drug is tested in a large group of patients.
Developing a new drug is very demanding, and normally takes between eight
and ten years.
ILLUSTRATION: MADS BERG