Discoveries of conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs - Serendipity or flawless reasoning?

Most of the conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were discovered serendipitously. Of course, discoveries do require serendipity, but it is not simply a random process or chance event. It is a process in which an unexpected event is seized upon by a creative mind that chooses to pay attention to the event, and unravels its mystery followed by its careful application for the benefit of mankind. Rheumatology is replete with such brilliant minds helping patients to come out from a hopeless illness and move towards a quality life that is almost as good as normal. In this short review, historical perspective of some of the older and current csDMARDs-related discoveries is described.