What proportion of medicines are developed purely synthetically, as opposed to coming from animals and plants and things like bee products?
A. Actually, quite a few medicines come from natural sources. A typical one, Aspirin, comes from willow bark. In the end it is a chemical compound but comes from the bark of the willow, a natural thing. Penicillin is another, from the soil bacteria. If we look at medicines in general, most people would be surprised how many come from nature.