ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the development of the medical profession, the pharmacy and pharmaceuticals and the rise and influence of the pharmaceutical industry. The case of the thalidomide tragedy is considered in relation to its influence on the development of the regulation of pharmaceuticals and the central role of clinical trials in determining the efficacy and safety of pharmaceuticals. The evidence-based medicine movement placed clinical trials at the top of its hierarchy of authority and in doing so shaped the way in which the medical profession itself is regulated. The development of drug company resistance to being regulated by state agencies and the important influence of the Center for the Study of Drug Development in the United States is discussed. These are some of the important historical developments that have interwoven to produce the situation in contemporary society where the main therapeutic approach relies on pharmaceuticals, many of which are prescribed by medical professionals.
