ABSTRACT
Simonsen et al. (2006) suggest that ‘drug therapy is playing an increasingly Simportant role in the treatment and care of patients’. Our increasing knowledge of how the body works and disease processes has put us in a better position to develop effective medicines and rational treatments. However, patients still experience adverse effects, which contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality, and some treatment decisions are still based on ‘trial and error’ (Read, 2002; WHO, 2002). Read (2002) suggests that the current system for developing new medicines is ‘costly and inefficient’.
