Californium

Hi jake and Mr Skeptic - thank you for the responses. That article is interesting, it looks like an example of the thing I am getting at. I wondered if there are any cases explored in depth in either medical literature or the philosophy of science? I will do some online research around the historical discovery of penicillin also. Thanks for replying.

Hi - first post, and I was hoping some practicing clinicians/scientists might be able to advise. I've heard that in the odd case a drug may be approved for use where the precise mechanism for its efficacy is not known. I am guessing that this is because they are shown to be effective in clinical trials for certain conditions despite such a 'gap' in knowledge? Can anyone provide examples of such cases, and where I might be able to find out more? I am interested both in the circumstances around their discovery, as well as the criteria via which drugs with unknown mechanisms are approved. I should point out that I am not scientifically trained (I'm a layman!), although I do have an interest in the philosophy of science, and this area in particular interests me. Thanks in advance for any response.