Since the beginning of mankind, health has always been regarded as one of the most important aspects of human life. Humans have always been looking for ways to prolong their lives. Driven by our obsession for prolonging our lives, we are willing to go to the extremes in order to achieve it. Regardless of the means, we seem determined to pursue our quest, as is evident in Hernando Cortes’ conquest of Mexico in search for the Fountain of Youth. Cortes wiped out a whole nation of Aztecs hoping to find a key to one’s life. The prime indicator of life is health. Nowadays, according to the Canadian Public Health Association, health status is directly related to social status. Social status today is heavily affected by poverty, unemployment, education, living and working conditions, families, friends, workplaces, social support and physical environments. Therefore, health too is affected by the previously stated issues. On any given day, thousands of potentially useful drug molecules are being studied in pharmaceutical laboratories in the United States, Europe, and around the world. Each year from this large number, a small fraction are determined to be very promising drugs and are chosen for testing in carefully-controlled clinical trials involving patient volunteers. After many years of research, those medications that prove their effectiveness and safety are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in this country. It is this thorough, research-based system that is responsible for providing the drugs that we have come to rely on for improved health and quality of life.
Today, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals is the world leader in emerging field of drug-eluting biomaterials and medical devices. They are pioneering the science of addin ...