A drug company has discovered a new drug to treat high blood pressure. The drug must be tested before doctors can use it.
After preclinical testing, the drug was tested in a clinical trial on 600 patients with high blood pressure.
The Table shows the results of the clinical trial.
Table
| Group | Treatment | Number of patients | Mean decrease in blood pressure in mmHg | Percentage of patients with side effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | new drug, low dose | 200 | 8 | 4 |
| B | new drug, high dose | 200 | 15 | 12 |
| C | placebo | 200 | 2 | 3 |
Describe what happens during preclinical testing of a new drug.
State why group C was given a placebo.
The trial was double-blind.
Explain what this means and why it is done.
Evaluate which dose of the new drug doctors should use.
Use data from the Table in your answer.
181 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Biology 6.3 Monitoring and maintaining health, covering 6.3.1 Health and disease, 6.3.2 Interactions between diseases, 6.3.3 Spread of communicable diseases, 6.3.4 Common infections and diseases, 6.3.5 Physical plant defence responses, 6.3.6 Chemical plant defence responses, 6.3.7 Detecting and identifying plant diseases, 6.3.8 White blood cells and platelets, 6.3.9 Non-specific defence systems, 6.3.10 The immune system, 6.3.11 Monoclonal antibodies, 6.3.12 Vaccines and medicines, 6.3.13 Aseptic techniques, 6.3.14 Discovery and development of new medicines, 6.3.15 Causes of non-communicable diseases, 6.3.16 Treatments for cardiovascular disease, 6.3.17 Lifestyle factors and non-communicable diseases, 6.3.18 Cancer, 6.3.19 Stem cells in medicine, 6.3.20 Gene technology in medicine, and 6.3.21 The human genome and medicine. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.