Drug development, from early discovery to regulatory approval for marketing, involves a long, complicated process. The process is complex, expensive, and has a low likelihood of eventual success. Completing this development process usually takes more than 10 years and involves collaboration among industry scientists, academic researchers, and clinicians. This presentation reviews the work involved at each stage of the drug discovery and development process and describes several challenges faced when bringing a medication from the chemist’s bench to the patient’s bedside. Recent changes in diagnostics, therapeutics, and drug development, along with rapid advancements in areas such as biologics, biosimilars, and nanotechnology, are likely to shape future clinical research and treatments.