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The Therapeutic Importance of Drugs

In: The International Diffusion of Pharmaceuticals

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  • J. E. S. Parker

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals vary widely in their importance. Some achieve a major breakthrough in medical technology, others add only a small step. It is plausible to suppose that the rate of spatial diffusion of Pharmaceuticals will be influenced by the size of the therapeutic advance that they achieve. Important drugs that are a major breakthrough are likely to attract considerable attention and diffuse rapidly around the world. They will be more effective in alleviation or cure than previous therapies, and will rapidly displace earlier Pharmaceuticals and thus secure sizeable markets quickly. The Salk vaccine for poliomyelitis is an example. Until it become available there was no effective immunisation against this disease. Acceptance of the vaccine was very rapid, so much so that the discovery has been used as a comparison base to measure the benefits that might accrue if other pharmaceuticals achieved an equally fast rate of acceptance.1

Suggested Citation

  • J. E. S. Parker, 1984. "The Therapeutic Importance of Drugs," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The International Diffusion of Pharmaceuticals, chapter 5, pages 87-111, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-06599-8_5
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-06599-8_5
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