Der Band zeichnet die oft spektakulären Erfolgs- oder Misserfolgsgeschichten neuartiger pharmazeutischer Wirkstoffe nach und nimmt den Leser dabei mit auf die Reise von den ersten Anfängen der Heilkunde bis zum Milliardengeschäft der modernen Pharmaindustrie. Sachkundig geschrieben, reich illustriert, anregend: Eine unterhaltsame Lektüre!

Enrique Ravina studied pharmacy at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where he obtained his PhD in 1969 and was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1975. Since 1981 he is Professor of Medicinal/Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the same University. He is a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Pharmacy, a founding member of the Spanish Society of Medicinal Chemistry and a member of the American Chemical Society. Professor Ravina has over 120 publications to his name in the field of chemistry of drugs, especially in the area of antipsychotic and cardiovascular potential drugs, including a book, book chapters, as well as a co-inventor of the world patent "6-phenyldihydropyrrolopyrimidinedione derivatives".