Subject Area: History and Philosophy of Science
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: History

Drugs are powerful forces of change. This course examines the 'life cycles' of successful medicines developed in the past century, from sex hormones to amphetamines to the latest genetically engineered protein drugs, and how these products have both reflected and reshaped the social roles of the medical profession and science. It offers a historical perspective on how the pharmaceutical industry today creates new drugs, how regulation affects industry activity, how marketing interacts with doctor and patient behavior, how problems of drug abuse are related to legal drug use, and how medicine, culture and politics are all remade in the process of drug innovation. The course communicates key concepts specific to understanding pharmaceuticals and drug policy, and also applies general concepts regarding the way scientific, technical, and social change are connected in order to help understand drugs and their impact.