What sort of drugs do they test on healthy people, and why?
Every drug, in any form, whether prescription or over-the-counter, has to be approved by a government regulatory agency before it can be made available. In order for a drug to be approved, it must be deemed both safe and effective. The drug is first tested in laboratory animals (eg. rats, guinea pigs) to determine if it is safe enough to be tested in humans. If safety is determined to an acceptable degree, then trials with humans are conducted using very low dosages of the drug. This is necessary to obtain specific information about the drug, for instance, the rate at which it is absorbed, metabolised, and passed out of the body, how it affects blood pressure, heart rate, etc. and what dosage can be given to subjects before they begin to experience minor side effects such as headache, sleepiness, or dizziness. Many such trials do not involve “experimental” drugs.
Every drug, in any form, whether prescription or over-the-counter, has to be approved by a government regulatory agency before it can be made available. In order for a drug to be approved, it must be deemed both safe and effective. The drug is first tested in laboratory animals (eg. rats, guinea pigs) to determine if it is safe enough to be tested in humans. If safety is determined to an acceptable degree, then trials with humans are conducted using very low dosages of the drug. This is necessary to obtain specific information about the drug, for instance, the rate at which it is absorbed, metabolised, and passed out of the body, how it affects blood pressure, heart rate, etc. and what dosage can be given to subjects before they begin to experience minor side effects such as headache, sleepiness, or dizziness. Many such trials do not involve “experimental” drugs. Instead, they test medications which are identical to or very similar to those already approved and available on the market.
