近年来，对于很多疾病的研究都有重大进展，但是却没有变成能在临床上使用的药物。其原因就在于药物的研发和审批不仅耗时很长，而且需要大量资金。美国的一家非盈利组织希望能找到一种模式来突破这种困境。
To help turn research into drugs
by Edith Bracho-Sanchez
The development of new medications in the United States is driven by pharmaceutical companies; researchers at universities rarely bring their discoveries to the bedside. For every 10,000 potential new medicines sitting on laboratory shelves around the country, only one will ever reach patients in need, according to the National Institutes of Health.
medication /ˌmedɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 药物
drive /draɪv/ v. 推动
pharmaceutical /ˌfɑːməˈsuːtɪk(ə)l/ adj. 制药的
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
discovery /dɪˈskʌv(ə)ri/ n. 发现
bedside /ˈbedsaɪd/ n. 床边（由bed和side组成；这里指病床边）
potential /pəˈtenʃ(ə)l/ adj. 潜在的
laboratory /ləˈbɒrət(ə)ri/ n. 实验室（常常简写成lab）
in need 急需帮助的
institute /ˈɪnstɪtjuːt/ n. 学会、研究院
Why? Because the process can take 10 to 15 years, costing upwards of a billion dollars per drug. As a result, the number of new medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration has remained stagnant at about 31 per year over the past 10 years.
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 过程
upwards /ˈʌpwədz/ of 至少
billion /ˈbɪljən/ n. 十亿
approve /əˈpruːv/ v. 批准
administration /ədˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 管理局
stagnant /ˈstæɡnənt/ adj. 停滞不前的
SPARK, a non-profit program created in partnership between Stanford University and volunteers from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and investment industries, aims to help academic researchers bring their discoveries to patients. Since its founding, SPARK has given special consideration to projects typically neglected by pharmaceutical companies, including rare diseases and diseases affecting children.
non- 前缀，表示否定
profit /ˈprɒfɪt/ n. 利润（non-profit就是非盈利性的）
program /ˈprəʊɡræm/ n. 项目、计划
partnership /ˈpɑːtnəʃɪp/ n. 合作关系
Stanford University 斯坦福大学（美国名校）
volunteer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪə(r)/ n. 志愿者
biotechnology /ˌbaɪəʊtekˈnɒlədʒi/ n. 生物科技（由technology加上表示生物的前缀bio-）
investment /ɪnˈvestmənt/ n. 投资（由invest加后缀-ment变成名词）
industry /ˈɪndəstri/ n. 行业
academic /ˌækəˈdemɪk/ adj. 学术的
found /faʊnd/ v. 创办、创建
consideration /kənˌsɪdəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 考虑（由consider加后缀-ation变成名词）
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目
typically /ˈtɪpɪk(ə)li/ adv. 典型地、通常（由typical加后缀-ly变成副词）
neglect /nɪˈɡlekt/ v. 忽视
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
Dr. Teresa Purzner put her neurosurgery（神经手术） practice on pause to study medulloblastoma, a type of childhood brain cancer. Compared to diseases like hypertension and high cholesterol, which affect millions of Americans, medulloblastoma is rare, affecting only 250 to 500 children every year.
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ n. 常规活动
pause /pɔːz/ n. 暂停
study /ˈstʌdi/ v. 研究
hypertension /ˌhaɪpəˈtenʃ(ə)n/ n. 高血压
cholesterol /kəˈlest(ə)rɒl/ n. 胆固醇
Purzner had a clear goal: to find a targeted therapy that could shut down the basic biochemical pathway responsible for the development of this cancer, and she did. She tested the potential drug in mice with good results, and she just received FDA approval to test it in clinical trials, which she will do through the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium.★ She did it all in five years and for a price tag of $500,000.
targeted /ˈtɑːɡɪtɪd/ adj. 有针对性的
therapy /ˈθerəpi/ n. 治疗、疗法
biochemical /ˌbaɪəʊˈkemɪk(ə)l/ adj. 生物化学的（由chemical加上表示生物的前缀bio-）
pathway /ˈpɑːθweɪ/ n. 通道、途径（这里指生物体内的一系列化学反应）
responsible /rɪˈspɒnsəb(ə)l/ for 负责…的
approval /əˈpruːv(ə)l/ n. 批准（由approve加后缀-al变成名词）
clinical /ˈklɪnɪk(ə)l/ adj. 临床的
trial /traɪəl/ n. 试验（由try加后缀-al变成名词）
★ 这句话里的the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium，我们只要知道它是一家能做药物临床试验的机构就行了，其名称里的单词不必深究
tag /tæɡ/ n. 标签、标牌
"To get from my initial findings in the lab to the point where the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium picked it up for clinical trials would have never happened without the help of SPARK. They gave me a clear pathway and made me believe it was possible," said Purzner.
initial /ɪˈnɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 最初的、一开始的
finding /ˈfaɪndɪŋ/ n. 发现
And there are many stories like Purzner's. Every year, SPARK provides 10 teams with funding and expert mentorship（指导） to promote efficient and cost-effective drug development. Sixty percent of SPARK projects have entered clinical trials or have been licensed to companies.
funding /ˈfʌndɪŋ/ n. 经费
expert /ˈekspɜːt/ adj. 专家的、内行的
promote /prəˈməʊt/ v. 促进
efficient /ɪˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/ adj. 高效的
effective /ɪˈfektɪv/ adj. 有效的（由effect加后缀-ive变成形容词；cost-effective就是“少花钱多办事的”）
license /ˈlaɪs(ə)ns/ v. 许可、授权
"SPARK addresses a black hole that neither NIH or biopharma（生物制药学） can fill," said Dr. Roham Zamanian, associate professor of medicine and director of the Adult Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Stanford University.★ It allows researchers to move forward drugs that would otherwise have no path, addressing the high cost of drug development and bringing precision medicine to patients, he explained.
address /əˈdres/ v. 处理、应对
associate /əˈsəʊʃiət/ adj. （职级）低一级的（associate professor是副教授）
★ 这句话里的the Adult Pulmonary Hypertension Program，我们只要知道它是斯坦福大学的一个项目就行了，其名称里的单词同样不必深究
precision /prɪˈsɪʒ(ə)n/ n. 精确
SPARK's model has been replicated at 12 academic institutions around the world. "It might be one way to have an impact on the health care cost crisis," said Zamanian.
model /ˈmɒd(ə)l/ n. 模式、典范
replicate /ˈreplɪkeɪt/ v. 复制
institution /ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃ(ə)n/ n. 组织、大型机构
impact /ˈɪmpækt/ n. 显著影响
crisis /ˈkraɪsɪs/ n. 危机
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
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