When Is a Drug Considered Pharmacologically Active?

A drug is a medication that is already pharmacologically active when administered: it is the form that most drugs come in. When the drug is metabolized (i.e., converted into one or more compounds through an enzymatic reaction), it will generally become inactive.

What does pharmacologically active mean?

In pharmacology, biological activity or pharmacological activity describes the beneficial or adverse effects of a drug on living matter. When a drug is a complex chemical mixture, this activity is exerted by the substance's active ingredient or pharmacophore but can be modified by the other constituents.

Which drugs are pharmacologically inactive?

Prodrugs are pharmacologically inactive medications that have to be converted to an active form through chemical reactions, such as hydrolysis or phosphorylation (Ortiz de Montellano, 2013).