Industry & money

Profitide’s Reading Room

Follow a medicine from scientific idea to business, manufacturing and public scrutiny.

Browse the five picks ↓

This week’s featured five

Five picks to explore

Five editorial picks for the week of October 26, 2026. Shelf updated October 30, 2026.

Pick 01 · Drug discovery

The Billion-Dollar Molecule

Barry Werth

Deeper dive

An inside account of early Vertex, where scientific ambition meets the pressures of building a biotechnology company.

See book on Bookshop.org ↗See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

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Pick 02 · Discovery history

The Drug Hunters

Donald R. Kirsch & Ogi Ogas

Start here

Explore how medicines emerged through scientific persistence, unexpected findings and changing research methods.

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Pick 03 · Manufacturing

Bottle of Lies

Katherine Eban

Curious reader

An investigation into documented failures in generic-drug manufacturing and oversight. Its cases are not a verdict on every generic medicine.

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Empire of PainPatrick Radden Keefe

Pick 04 · Power & accountability

Empire of Pain

Patrick Radden Keefe

Deeper dive

An investigative history of the Sackler family and the business surrounding OxyContin. Includes addiction and loss.

See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

Retailer purchase links are paid affiliate links.

Pick 05 · Industry & evidence

Bad Pharma

Ben Goldacre

Deeper dive

A critical examination of research reporting, incentives and the information used to make treatment decisions. Read as a dated critique, not a current regulatory guide.

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Cover thumbnails: Open Library, where available; used to identify the books. Cover and book rights belong to their respective owners. Historical books may not reflect current science, policy or clinical care.