The conception to production of new prescription drugs is a complicated process.
Initial work begins in gathering information, followed by computer and lab testing of compounds.
New drug products are then subjected to rigorous testing in animals and finally clinical trials in humans, which usually consist of several phases. The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation Research reviews the studies, weighs the risks versus benefits and approves or disapproves as required. Newly marketed drugs are carefully followed for adverse reactions, doctors prescribe, and patients use the new medications. However, buried in the process is the chilling realization that no prescription drug is absolutely safe and all along the way from lab to consumer there is considerable room for error which can and often does leave in its wake preventable tragedies. Thalidomide is one dramatic example from the 1960s of a drug not being thoroughly scrutinized.