By Dick Pelletier
Movies like The Terminator series and 2001: a Space Odyssey
bring out the little child in us. We love to fantasize about
computers capable of mimicking life. Today, this science fiction is
rapidly becoming real science with computers bringing human cells
to “virtual” life. 
Recognizing the values of this new technology, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration recently recommended that the industry
expand and accelerate development of simulated clinical trials. For
too long, experts say, the drug industry has relied on human trial
and error; sometimes even intuition, to determine which products
would succeed. Statistics show three of every four drugs entering
clinical trials fail, leaving companies burdened with huge
financial losses and shattering the hopes of patients anxiously
awaiting cures.
From R&D to the pharmacy, each drug development typically
takes ten years or more and costs up to $1 billion, which is the
prime reason prescription drugs are so astronomically high priced.
Researchers struggling to meet time-to-market deadlines, and drug
companies anxious to cut costs, are beginning to place their hopes
on computer simulations.
Recently, pharmaceutical giant Aventis was racing to develop a
competitor to Evista, a hot-selling drug from Eli Lilly. Aventis
was already in early human trials, but computer simulations
revealed a potential side effect which could lead to cancer. They
immediately stopped funding the development and switched to a safer
backup drug. Researcher Frank Douglas said the company saved $50 to
$100 million and avoided exposing women to a drug that ultimately
could have given them cancer. (cont.)
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The University of Michigan announced recently that they had made artificial bone marrow that can continuously make red and white blood cells. According to Nicholas Kotov, the PI of the lab, it uses 3D scaffolding that mimics the tissues that support bone marrow in the body.
In addition to possibly providing an inexhaustible source of blood for transfusions, which in and of itself would be great, it has the potential to simplify the pharmaceutical drug-testing process. As the world of discovery speeds up, the process of safely testing and bringing to market drugs and treatments in less than the standard 7-10 years is a difficult obstacle to overcome and one which is in great demand.
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In the past we have consumed certain drugs because they keep us
awake or make us feel good, even if they had dangerous side
effects; but soon we will come across powerful drugs and techniques
to boost our cognitive capabilities. 
As an example, a recently developed drug has caught some
attention. In the healthy human being, Provigil
fatigue and suppresses sleep. That sounds great when you walk into
your office exhausted and you can’t imagine going through the rest
of the day without it; but it was originally used in the treatment
of narcolepsy. (The off-label use of this drug resulted in a $425
million penalty for Cephalon), the
producer.) Provigil is known to boost working memory, executive
function and attention and has attracted a variety of fans ranging
from athletes to the French military.
In comparison, tobacco was promoted in 1560 for their medicinal
uses, and as early as the Stone Age humans chewed plants containing
caffeine to stimulate awareness, ease fatigue, and elevate mood.
We’ve seen how both the caffeine and nicotine industries have
shaped today. Provigil, our contemporary counterpart, is newer to
the game but its effects are stronger and safety is still debated.
Might they be even safer than caffeine and nicotine? How will
Provigil and other developing enhancers shape the future?
From an ethical dimension, humans have been taking drugs for a
while, including the aforementioned, and in a way we have
co-evolved together with them. They were useful to us, and so we
helped them to reproduce and scale. We might try to imagine how the
world would be without coffee and cigarettes – might that lead to
lower productivity or other negatives? It’s certainly difficult to
quantify. Jumping forward, what if we increased productivity by 10%
by using new drugs such as Provigil? How would/will this transform
our economy? How intrusive are we willing to get?
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