Hallelujah Moments: Tales of Drug Discovery 2nd Edition

As someone who spent much of her career in drug discovery at pharmaceutical companies, I truly enjoyed reading about the experiences of others! As described by Dr Cordes, there are many roadblocks along the way to discover, develop, and market a successful new medication. Even though few potential drugs actually make it to the market, a career in drug discovery is exciting and fulfilling, if one takes pleasure in both the small and large successes along the way! I heartily recommend this book, both to those who are "drug hunters" and those who are considering a career in this field.

In this book, the author takes you through fascinating stories that showcase the prodigious efforts that go into making drugs that improve human health. Each chapter describes the story of an individual drug (or class of drugs), from the identification of an unmet medical need to the final testing in human patients. My personal favorite is the story of the development of HIV therapies, as it includes not only the remarkable efforts to transition AIDS from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease, but also recounts the societal stigma associated with the disease. What makes this book special is the unique perspective of the author, Dr. Cordes, who had first-hand experience in a lot of the stories via his role at the pharma company Merck. The stories mention the key people that drove the research and development and are peppered with personal anecdotes that make this book truly captivating. The author narrates the stories in a way that is approachable for readers with only a basic understanding of chemistry and biology, and still does justice to the remarkable and extraordinarily complex task of making new drugs. I enthusiastically recommend this book to those curious about drug development or simply interested in beautiful stories about the unknown heroes that improved so many human lives.

This compilation of fascinating stories of the discovery and journey to market of some of our best pharmaceuticals is written in a very accessible and entertaining way for all readers. I’m guessing almost all of us have either taken or will eventually be prescribed at least one of the life-transforming medications described in this book. The stories of amazing successes (and at least one illustrative failure) from an insider in drug research and development capture the spirit of adventure and discovery and teach much about the process of drug development in general. In this second edition the stories describing the development of the drugs are now told separately from the details of the chemistry behind them. Those details are still there but are now in appendices for those who want to dive in further. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes connecting the identification of an unmet need in human health to the delivery of effective of medications this is a great read!