| For the pharmaceutical industry, the discovery of a new drug presents
an enormous scientific challenge, and consists essentially in the
identification of new molecules or compounds. Ideally, the latter
will become drugs that act in new ways upon biological
targets specific to the diseases requiring new therapeutic approaches. The identification of therapeutic targets requires knowledge of
a disease’s etiology and the biological
systems associated
with it. Molecular biology has revolutionized the process of drug discovery.
Not too long ago, scientists searched for new targets employing
a long and costly process of trial and error. Today, the collective
contribution of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics allows
for the much more rapid and precise discovery of those genes and/or
proteins involved in the etiology of certain diseases.
| Duration: from several months
to several years.
In order to ensure the successful development of new drugs,
the pharmaceutical industry requires considerable scientific
and financial resources, must form strategic alliances with
industrial partners, the university research community and
companies conducting research under contract. |
Recent findings issuing from the “human genome” project
have seen the odyssey of drug discovery become very sophisticated
indeed. Over the last fifty years, most of the drugs commercialized
were developed for around five-hundred (500) known biological
targets.
Now, the many projects involved in the study of the “genome and proteome” of
humans and other organisms are beginning to contribute to the discovery
of new biologically interesting
targets. Scientists have estimated at three thousand (3,000) the
number of new therapeutic
targets that will be discovered over
the next few years. These results will have a significant impact
on the process of drug discovery, particularly because several
of these targets will allow for the development of drugs that are
therapeutically more precise and effective. |
