Blockbuster Drugs

Jie Jack Li was a drug discovery chemist at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. He is the author of Triumph of the Heart: The Story of Statins (Oxford, 2009), Modern Organic Synthesis in the Laboratory (Oxford, 2007), and Laughing Gas, Viagra, and Lipitor: The Human Stories Behind the Drugs We Use (Oxford, 2006).

• Table of Contents ; Chapter 1 Before the Age of Blockbuster Drugs ; Chapter 2 The Beginning of an Era - The First Blockbuster Drug Tagamet ; Chapter 3 More Blockbuster Drugs for Ulcer ; Chapter 4 Antihistamines as Allergy Medicines ; Chapter 5 Blood Thinners, From Heparin to Plavix ; Chapter 6 Conquest of Pain-Analgesics: from Morphine to Lyrica ; Chapter 7 Lessons ; Bibliography ; Appendix ; Index

Recipient of the 2015 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award."Once again, with his latest book, Jack Li has produced a wonderfully fascinating and rich history of the so-called 'Blockbuster Drugs.' From the treatment of ulcers and acid reflux, to the control of allergies, and the conquest of pain, Dr. Li weaves a beautiful tale of these extraordinary medicines, familiar to all. The book is full of detail, with an extensive bibliography, and, for the molecular connoisseur, includes chemical structures in the Appendix. Dr. Li is rapidly becoming a premiere figure for writing about medicines for the educated population!" -- Gordon W. Gribble, The Dartmouth Professor of Chemistry, Dartmouth University"This enjoyable book describes more than a century of progress in the development of many major new medicines for the treatment of human illness. It provides deep insights into the process of innovation and also the remarkable individuals responsible for it. The accounts are understandable to the non-scientist but also valuable to researchers and practitioners of modern medicine. There is a nice balance between the human, historical and medical sides of drugdiscovery -- one of the most consequential activities of our times." -- E.J. Corey, Nobel Laureate, Harvard University"Jie Jack Li takes us through the ages of pharmaceuticals in this informative and engaging book. Professor Li links the medical world with its much broader cultural background in a way that will appeal to many. If you are interested in the past, present, and future of the medicines you take and the background to their production, look no further than this book." --New York Journal of Books