Medication

Medicine is a substance used to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent illness. It is also known as a pharmaceutical, medicinal, or just drug. The discipline of pharmacology and pharmacy work hand in hand to progress the area of drug treatment (pharmacotherapy), which is a critical component of modern medicine.

Classification of drugs may be done in several ways. Prescription medications (those that a pharmacist may only administer on the direction of a doctor, physician assistant, or certified nurse) are separated from over-the-counter pharmaceuticals by degree of regulation (those that consumers can order for themselves). Biopharmaceuticals, which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically (such as IVIG), gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies, and cell treatment, are another important difference (for instance, stem-cell therapies). Medicines may also be categorised based on their mechanism of action, route of administration, biological system they influence, or therapeutic effect. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Categorization System is a comprehensive and frequently used classification system (ATC system). An official list of necessary medications is maintained by the WHO.

Pharmaceutical corporations, university scientists, and governments all invest time, money, and resources in medication research and development. It's no surprise that partnering has become a typical technique for moving drug candidates through development pipelines. In most places, governments set restrictions on what pharmaceuticals may be sold and how they can be sold. Disposal of used medications and drug price have sparked debates.