Top Drugs: History, Pharmacology, Syntheses

Book Preface

This book originated from a short course that I taught at the University of Pittsburgh. My course on the history, pharmacology, and synthesis of drugs has been warmly received by graduate students and senior undergraduate students majoring in chemistry, biology, pre-med, pharmacy, and related topics. Several professors who teach undergraduate organic chemistry asked me to develop a short textbook that will acclimate undergraduates to the “real world” of chemistry and drug discovery.

This book is geared toward undergraduate institutions interested in offering a short course on this topic. Senior undergraduate students and scientists in both academia and industry will also find it useful to understanding the landscape of current drug discovery and development.

This book covers the history, pharmacology, and synthesis of ten top drugs. Each chapter is divided to the following sections: