An experimental drug is a substance that has been tested in a laboratory and has got approval

Approved drug

In the United States, the FDA approves drugs. Before a drug can be prescribed, it must undergo an extensive FDA approval process. This process involves first testing the drug on animals or in medical labs. If found to be safe by the FDA and approved for the next phase of study, the drug is then...

 from regulatory authorities to be tested on people. In the United States, the body responsible for approval is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A drug may be approved for use in one disease or condition but be considered experimental or investigational

Investigational New Drug

The United States Food and Drug Administration's Investigational New Drug program is the means by which a pharmaceutical company obtains permission to ship an experimental drug across state lines before a marketing application for the drug has been approved...

 in other diseases or conditions.

An example of a medical drug that has been tested but not yet on the market is medical cannabis

Medical cannabis

Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...

.

External links

• Experimental drug entry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms