A cardiology professor–turned–academic consultant and clinical investigator for a pharmaceutical company reveals the way prescription drugs are developed.
In Mills’ (Practical Approaches to the Treatment of Heart Failure, 2001, etc.) part memoir, part scientific account of the way the Food and Drug Administration approves new medications—in this case, a treatment for heart failure called Nesiritide distributed by the “small biotech company” Scios—readers learn how medications are tested and sold. Mills tracks the rise of Scios and its eventual demise. The goal of this cautionary tale, or as Mills terms it, “tragic drama,” is to “instill fear in the audience, the fear of making the same mistake” that his company did. During his time at Scios, Mills engaged “deeply with questions of drug safety and efficacy.” Here, he concisely outlines how Scios went wrong in testing and marketing their now defunct product, from how they worked with the FDA to the press coverage of Scios that was “instrumental in shaping much of the company’s fall” to the Scios management that repeatedly stumbled along the way. Those who work in the pharmaceutical industry or have either an educational or professional interest in understanding how big pharma operates from the inside will glean the most from Mills’ book. He weaves a compelling narrative: he introduces dynamic players like his patient Eddy Buczynski, who suffered from heart failure and was one of the first people to get Mills interested in curing the disease, and later Kim Hillis, the national sales manager at Scios—a “compact blonde dynamo,” who could have been “the star shortstop on a championship softball team.” These descriptions and characters keep what could have been a dry narrative fresh and engaging. A lively, well-told, thoroughly researched look at how drugs are brought to market.
Pub Date: June 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4917-9763-1
Page Count: 150
Publisher: True Directions
Review Posted Online: Dec. 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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