MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — WKRG News 5’s Devon Walsh sits down with Pharmacist Tiffany Mitchem with the Southern Cancer Center to discuss the lifecycle of a drug.
Below are some commonly asked questions:
- Walk us through the first steps of developing a new cancer drug, the “lab phase”.
- Who is studying the new drug?
- How do they determine if it is successful?
- Walk us through the steps of a clinical trial.
- What is the testing process like?
- Who are the subjects the new drug is typically tested on?
- FDA Approval
- What is this approval process like/ When is a drug deemed “ready” for approval?
- How long can this approval process take?
- Is it possible to get a treatment that isn’t FDA approved?
- Once a drug is approved, is that it? Or does the research continue to see if it could be used for other cancer types?
- Are drugs being approved faster today than 10+ years ago?
- How long after approval are patients able to start these new drugs?
- Is the cancer drug approval process different than non-cancer drugs?
- Future of Drugs
- How has cancer treatment changed with new drug discovery?
- How has COVID affected the process of drug development?
- What is the difference between an “accelerated approval” used by cancer drugs and the “emergency use authorization” used to fast-track the COVID vaccine?
The development and approval process of a drug has been the topic of much discussion lately because of the attention that has surrounded the release of the COVID-19 vaccine. Southern Cancer Center’s Director of Pharmacy, Tiffany Mitchem, Pharm.D, is here to shine some light on this subject and discuss how cancer drugs journey from scientists in a lab and into the hands of a patient.
Watch the Facebook live above for more information.
