ABSTRACT
Even before we are born, we are under assault by foreign organisms and by defects in our bodies that ultimately may lead to an overwhelming variety of diseases and conditions. We fight back by means of our immune system and various repair mechanisms, and when these prove insufficient, we rely on external substances: medicines. Medicinal chemistry is the branch of chemistry that focuses on the design, synthesis, and development of new medicines or drugs. Hidden in this simple definition are several areas of science, including organic chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology
