A New Drug, Taken Twice Daily For One Month, Is An Effective Treatment GMAT Critical Reasoning

Question: Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

A new drug, taken twice daily for one month, is an effective treatment for a certain disease. The drug now most commonly prescribed for the disease occasionally has serious side effects such as seizures; in field tests, the new drug’s side effects, though no worse than mild nausea, turned out to be much more frequent. Nevertheless, the new drug is clearly preferable as a treatment, since _____.

A) people who experience nausea are prone to discontinue use of the new drug prematurely
B) It is possible that the drug now most commonly prescribed has side effects that have not yet been attributed to it
C) other drugs for the disease have typically been prescribed only for patients allergic to the most commonly prescribed drug
D) people who have received effective treatment for disease do not generally contract the disease again
E) there is a nonprescription medication that when taken with the new drug prevents the onset of nausea

Correct Answer: (E)
Explanation: An innovative drug works well to treat a specific disease when taken twice daily for one month. In field tests, the new drug's side effects, while no worse than mild nausea, turned out to be much more common even though they were no worse than those of the disease's current most frequently prescribed medication, which occasionally has serious side effects like seizures. However, the new medication is unquestionably better as a cure because…..

The question asks for an answer that most suitably completes the passage. Analyzing each option separately will help in determining the right one.

Option – E : Correct
This option states that when combined with the new drug, a non-prescription medication works to delay the onset of nausea. It would be preferable if the over-the-counter medication could aid in preventing nausea and this drug could carry out its intended function without difficulty. Therefore this option is the right choice.

Option – A : Incorrect
This option states that those who experience nausea are more likely to stop using the new medication early. It is impossible to say that a drug is a better course of treatment if people are likely to stop taking it. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option – B : Incorrect
This option states that it is possible that the drug that is currently most frequently prescribed has side effects that have not been linked to it. The thesis is weakened by this. It would not be a preferred drug if numerous new side effects were to appear. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option – C : Incorrect
This option states that only patients who are allergic to the most frequently prescribed medication have typically been prescribed other medications for the disease. This is irrelevant since we must only discuss this drug. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option – D : Incorrect
This option states that the majority of the time, people who have successfully treated a disease do not relapse. Since the topic at hand here is effective treatment rather than a novel drug, this is outside the scope. Therefore this option is ruled out.

From the explanations given above, it is clear that the final option is the right choice.

“A new drug, taken twice daily for one month, is an effective treatment” - is a GMAT question about critical thinking. A candidate may choose to either find evidence that would undermine the argument or present an argument that is illogical in order to respond to the question. The GMAT critical reasoning gauges a candidate's aptitude for logic and analysis. Candidates must identify the argument's advantages and disadvantages as well as its logical flaws for this topic. Out of the 36 GMAT verbal questions, 10–13 critical reasoning questions are found.

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