A drug derived from daffodil bulbs and first described by Homer goes on sale this week as the newest weapon against Alzheimer's disease. The prescription drug goes on sale this week. It is hardly the first time a new medicine has been found in plants or in nature. That is why the industry contends 20-year patent protections to keep cheaper, generic copies off the market are needed, so research companies can make a profit.
Critics disagree and say drug prices are too high.
Nowadays, the process of finding new drugs relies more than ever on the latest biotechnology advances, which allow researchers to study what causes disorders and design molecules and compounds to try to fix what is broken. Indeed, some experts estimate that as many as a quarter of all drugs come from natural sources, mostly plants. Ilya Raskin, a professor of plant science at Rutgers University, said plants produce many compounds to protect themselves from diseases. They are still tiny little plants, but they can produce more chemicals than Merck or Bristol-Myers Squibb. Moreover, Reminyl's introduction highlights a significant developing market.