We’d like to take you on a quick walk through the Drug Development Hall of Fame. We’ll showcase the three pharmaceutical innovations that have arguably made the most positive impact on society over the past 50 years in order to illustrate the benefits that new drugs can have to both individual people and society at large. (To be clear, there are many, many world-changing drugs, and you may feel like we neglected one of your favorites! We’ve just picked a few of the strongest and best-known examples to highlight here.)
These three drugs are…
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AZT (azidothymidine) for HIV/AIDS
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Lipitor (atorvastatin) for high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease
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DAAs (direct-acting antivirals) for Hepatitis C