Interferon: The Science and Selling of a Miracle Drug (Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine)

Pieters, Toine

ISBN 10: 0415648661 / ISBN 13: 9780415648660

Published by Routledge, 2012

About this Item

Toine Pieters charts the history and development of one of the most important medical substances of the 20th century, Interferon, as a drug. The author looks at the development of Interferon through the worlds of biological and clinical research, the pharmaceutical industry, doctors, patients, and many more. Series: Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Num Pages: 284 pages, 38 black & white illustrations, 2 black & white tables. BIC Classification: MBX. Category: (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly. Dimension: 158 x 234 x 16. Weight in Grams: 442. . 2012. 1st Edition. paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780415648660

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Interferon: The Science and Selling of a Miracle Drug (Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine)
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415648661
• ISBN 13: 9780415648660
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This innovative study charts the beginnings, history and fate of Interferon - one of modern medicine's most famous and infamous drugs. Interferon is part of the medical profession's armoury against viral infection, cancer and MS. The story of its development and use is one of survival in the face of remarkable cycles of promise and disappointment as a miracle drug. By telling this story, Toine Pieters' book provides insight into the research, manufacture, and marketing of new bio-molecules that mark modern medical science.
Pieters' closely argued book adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in seeking to trace the extraordinary voyage of interferon. Through the lens of interferon's voyage, the book explores the interaction of the broad range of actors driving medical science:
*biological and clinical researchers
*the pharmaceutical industry
*high-powered government agencies
*doctors and patients
*the media.
The book demonstrates how research on interferon led to new clinical definitions of cancer and a new rationale for therapeutic use of the drug. Interferon provides a marvellous insight into the development of one of the most controversial drugs of our time. It enhances our understanding of how medicine manufacture and marketing all played a part in pushing back the boundaries of research, from the post-penicillin era to the genetics revolution in medicine.
This study is of particular interest to undergraduates and postgraduates in the fields of History of Medicine, Pharmacology, Medical Genetics and History of Science.

About the Author

Toine Peters is senior research fellow at the Department of Metamedica of the VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, and Professor of History of Pharmacy at Groningen University, the Netherlands.