QUIZ about drugs that are created in Poland. What do you know about them?
How new drugs are created and why it takes up to 20 years, where do ideas for new drugs come from, who in Poland is working on mRNA and what properties does the silver scale of coffee have: these are the questions we answer in the June series “Polish science for the development of medicine and the health of Poles”. Check if you know who in Poland started the production of insulin and what substances inhibit the process of cell aging.
In June, in the pages of “Wprost”, we talked to, among others, outstanding scientists about the process of creating drugs. Prof. Marcin Kołaczkowski, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Jagiellonian University and one of the main scientists at Adamed, claims that Poland is currently prepared to conduct production of innovative drugs and clinical trials of further phases. However, cooperation is necessary, “relay” actions in cooperation with foreign centers. Today, no one is able to invent a drug on their own. Each new drug is a combination of substances that are thoroughly tested – both in terms of production method, purification, quality assurance, and its effect on the body.
Polish scientists can boast a truly beautiful history.
Thanks to the extraordinary commitment of Kazimierz Funk, the production of insulin units at the National Institute of Hygiene increased more than fourfold within a few years, while Tomasz Spasowicz improved its production using protamine from the milk of salmonid fish, trout and bull trout, thanks to which he produced insulin with a prolonged hypoglycemic effect.
Prof. Jacek Jemielity from the Center of New Technologies at the University of Warsaw, founder and president of ExploRNA Therapeutics, draws attention to the enormous possibilities of mRNA technology. It can be used against cancer, in the treatment of rare diseases, in regenerative medicine, cell therapies and precise genome modification using technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9, for which the Nobel Prize was awarded a few years ago. The new mRNA modification discovered by Prof. Jemielity’s team opens up new possibilities of therapeutic applications. Currently, cooperation is being carried out with many biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, enabling them to use this technology. It can also be used in own projects, implemented in the future by Prof. Jemielity’s team.
Prof. Jakub Fichna, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry at the Medical University of Lodz, conducts research focused primarily on discovering and potentiating natural substances that can be used to improve the health and treatment of people with intestinal diseases and that can contribute to stopping the aging processes of cells. His team focuses on substances of natural origin (plant and animal), using them and incorporating them into more complex structures.
Where do ideas for new Polish medicines come from? Test your knowledge in the Wprost series: Polish science for the development of medicine and the health of Poles.
You will find answers to all questions in the articles below the quiz, which were published in the series Wprost: Polish science for the development of medicine and the health of Poles.
Polish scientists are among the first in the world to develop a life-saving drug
Prof. Jemielity: Our discovery is a scientific breakthrough. A chance to treat cancer, rare diseases
Prof. Fichna: Medicines are hidden in nature, we discover them. Wprost talks about Polish science and medicine
How are new drugs created? Prof. Kołaczkowski: “It’s a relay race and collective work”
Text: Maciej Pinkosz
