Fiducia TogetherDrug development
How a new medicine is tested before anyone can have it.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
New drugs are tested for toxicity, efficacy and dose: first preclinically on cells, tissues and animals, then in clinical trials on healthy volunteers at low doses, then on patients.
Where it applies
GCSE biology and combined science.
How it works
A placebo is an inactive treatment used for comparison. A double-blind trial means neither patient nor doctor knows who received which, which removes bias from both sides.
Peer review and publication allow other scientists to check the claims.
How to use it in your work
Learn the stages in order and what each tests for. Questions ask which stage tests what.
Explain double-blind properly — both patient and doctor — because 'blind' alone only covers the patient.
Ethical points about placebos and animal testing are creditable in evaluation questions.
Where to get help
Your teacher, your board's specification for the depth required at your tier, and Bitesize for the diagrams.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Biology Song The GCSE biology specification, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.