Laughing Gas, Viagra, and Lipitor: The Human Stories behind the Drugs We Use

by Jie Jack Li

The stories behind drug discovery are fascinating, full of human and scientific interest. This is a book on the history of drug discovery that highlights the intellectual splendor of discoverers as well as the human frailty associated them. History is replete with examples of breakthrough medicines that have saved millions of lives. Ether as an anesthetic by Morton; penicillin as an antibiotic by Fleming; and insulin as an anti-diabetic by Banting are just a few examples. The discoverers of these medicines are doubtlessly benefactors to mankind--for instance, without penicillin, 75% of us probably would not be alive because some of our parents or grandparents would have succumbed to infections.
Dr. Jack Li, a medicinal chemist who is intimately involved with drug discovery, has assembled an astounding amount of facts and information behind important drugs through extensive literature research and interviews with many inventors of the drugs including Viagra and Lipitor. There have been many myths and inaccuracies associated with those legendary drugs. The inventors perspectives afforded this book an invaluable accuracy and insight because history is not history unless it is true.
The text is supplemented by many anecdotes, pictures and postage stamps. Both specialist and layman will find Laughing Gas, Viagra, and Lipitor informative and entertaining. Students in chemistry, pharmacy, and medicine, workers in healthcare and high school science teachers will find this book most useful.

Genres: Science, History, Medicine, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Jie Jack Li earned his PhD in organic chemistry in 1995 at Indiana University. After a stint as a postdoctoral fellow MIT, he worked as a medicinal chemist at Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1997 to 2012.

Reviews

[Brahm · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I picked this up after seeing it enthusiastically recommended in a Nassim Nicholas Taleb book (I think it was Antifragile).

I liked the human stories of the drug discoveries but the technical content was (for me with no biology/chemistry/medical background) pretty advanced. Not an easy book, for example, there is a whole appendix illustrating structures of different medical molecules. Has a near-textbooky feel.

Some interesting takeaways.
- There is a TON of luck in drug discoveries. Society is pretty lucky some key people were paying attention to flubbed experiments (penicillin) or had some seriously stubborn people working on problems (Banting for insulin).
- We didn't know how aspirin actually worked until the 70s or 80s. Just that it worked.

I (a layperson) had the strange feeling the author believes there is a potential drug solution for every medical problem, and I guess I am either too sceptical or uninformed to agree. The human body seems too complex, and there were many stories in this very book of well-intentioned drugs having horrible long-term consequences (eg, Thalidomide).

[Bablu]

total insider touting pharmaceutical science successes. the book is short, easily flipped through, yet filled some big gaps in my understanding of drug discovery and development and then went on to open another thousand blank spaces in my mind about the subject, structure-activity relationships, and knowledge-production. anyone with an ounce of critical thought about "life-saving medicines" should read but read carefully and widely

[Piinhuann Chew]

The future seemed seriously grim when AIDS became an epidemic 20 years ago. Now it has transformed from a death sentence to a disease that can be controlled
- I was fooled by my parents' lunacy and imbecility believing that "more and more stronger viruses will appear and ruin humans via pandemic". They are largely anecdotal or even mythical.
- Now, I remember the fear that society has when Ebola appeared. Fear on Ebola today = Fear on AIDS 20 years ago. Today's AIDS = 20 years later's Ebola.

[Lorenzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book. Being a physician, I knew part of the facts told by the author. I do not fully agree with the idea of writing the books starting from a pharmacological classification; furthermore, in my opinion, many other drugs not cited have a more intriguing and interesting story compared to some others picked by the author, sometimes a little boring. Nevertheless, a fully enjoyable reading.

[Corey Graziade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great subject matter! I would have rated this higher as I thought it was well written. However, the flow of the book became choppy at times and struggled to define it’s audience. At times it explains basic concepts as if the audience is anyone and at others it assumes the reader is well versed in chemistry. Thankfully I have a degree in chem-heavy biology and am about to start pharmacy school and didn’t need the extra help.

[Özgür Takmaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing the story behind a subject is the only way of knowing it. More drama means more remembering. A must-read about pharmacology.

[Orsolya Demeter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do love the author's chemistry books, but this one was like a loose-fitted monologue made from Wikipedia clippings. Some editing would have been nice.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what it says on the tin: the stories behind the development of a wide variety of drugs, including ones that are no longer in use. Many of the stories are fascinating, and some of them are nearly soap operatic in the level of backstabbing involved between the researchers. The tone is very conversational, which is especially helpful when Li delves into the science. He doesn't shy away from the hard science involved, so some sections of the book were a bit over my head. Since the book is divided into sections, first by the type of drug and then into smaller sections by each individual drug, this is the sort of book that could easily be read a little bit at a time, or read all at once in a few days. Short and satisfying, it'll remind you just what it takes to get a single effective drug to the people who need it.

[Raj Rajkumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engaging narrative on the development of pharmaceuticals to treat six major families of illnesses. I particularly enjoyed the human side of the stories -- the serendipitous discoveries as well as the ones that required tremendous effort. The author goes into technical details as well but I do not have the background in organic chemistry and molecular biology to understand and appreciate what, at times, became a bit tedious. It is only for this reason that I am giving this book 4-stars instead of 5-stars.