The search for drugs began since there were diseases, that is, since the appearance of the human species. Through pure luck - chewing, boiling, and inhaling - some Neolithic beings discovered opium, echinacea, juniper, and other useful substances.
Oetzi, the Ice Man, a five-thousand-year-old hunter found frozen in the Italian Alps, was found to be infected with parasites in his intestines, and had a Copper Age medicine tied to his pants: a parasiticidal mushroom. Today, major pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars in state-of-the-art laboratories staffed with top scientists to discover future blockbuster drugs. However, despite our best efforts to develop new therapeutic formulations, luck, trial and error, risk, and innovation remain fundamental elements of drug discovery.

This book is a vivid and enlightening narrative of the research for new medicines from our Neolithic ancestors to today's professionals, and from quinine and aspirin to Viagra, Prozac, and Lipitor. Its chapters tell with rare narrative vitality how new drugs are discovered in practice, their development strategies, the mistakes and rare successes of drug hunters from many countries around the world.
Dr. Donald R. Kirsch has embedded here his rich experience from his long career in drug hunting, whether searching for life-saving molecules in the swamps of Chesapeake Bay or leading research teams in some of the largest pharmaceutical companies.