How are drugs made?

[Mermaid]

This is what I do for a living. Here's a super over-simplified bullet point list of the general process of drug discovery and development:

-A need is identified. New antibiotic, cancer drug, antidepressant, boner pill, etc.
-A mode of action is identified that identifies drug candidates. (if a chemical kills certain cells or causes cells or systems to behave in the desired way, etc)
-A screen is designed to exploit this mode of action (a receptor is cloned onto a cell line, or a cell line/organism is propagated, or some other relevant biological parameter is cultured or manufactured).
-Random or targeted chemistry is screened using the assays that were designed above.
-Classes of chemistry that do the desired thing in your screen are identified and chemistry wizardry and art is applied to making different molecules based on that class of chemistry
-Leads are identified and tested more rigorously for efficacy and safety
-New drug is chosen from field of candidates and is tested in the field in clinical trials
-New drug on TV, where you are directed to discuss it with your doctor.

There are, as you imagine, quite a few details in between.