Modern Drug Discovery ACS Publications
July 2003 From Concept to Development
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Volume 6, Issue 7
Article Indexes
Author Indexes
 
 

 

Features
Pharmacogenomics: Looking toward the payoff (199 KB)
by Randall C. Willis and Mark S. Lesney
The molecular description of the human genome and the cataloging of the myriad single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that dot our genetic landscape were supposed to herald a new age for the human species. Access to the metabolic instruction manual of the body would garner an untold wealth of information about how and why humans work as they do (functional genomics) and why they respond to drugs as they do (pharmacogenomics). But to date, there have been few pharmacogenomic success stories like that seen with the treatment of some breast cancers with a monoclonal antibody.

 Pharmacogenomics: Looking toward the payoff

Therapeutic interference (245 KB)
by Charles W. Schmidt
Enthusiasm about RNA interference (RNAi), whereby gene expression is selectively turned off using short strands of RNA, is cranked up full tilt. But RNAi has much to overcome before it delivers revolutionary new drugs to the market. RNAi’s therapeutic premise—that RNAs involved in disease can be selectively blocked—isn’t new. For more than ten years, scientists have tried to use “antisense” techniques to silence genes that contribute to disease. But antisense has perpetually frustrated researchers: the efficacy of new compounds can seem arbitrary, and gene-silencing effects are typically obtained only with considerable trial and error.

 Therapeutic interference

Departments

Content in Context
Nomenclature (31 KB)
by James F. Ryan

News in Brief (122 KB)
Breast cancer and antioxidants • Toward a malaria vaccine • An adverse look • Lowering brain cholesterol •Slow GABA, and go? • Blood and gold • Glyco-boosting biomeds • Quantitative chemical proteomics • Cytotoxic targeting • SECM sensitivity

For Your Health
Tossing and turning (77 KB)
by Julie L. McDowell
Sleep disorders rob millions of Americans of needed rest.

Applications NoteBook
In fine pharm (191 KB)
by Kevin Altria
Capillary electrophoresis is finding wider use throughout the drug development process.

Sites and Software
Scaling the heights of productivity (146 KB)
by James Tam, Peter Giannousis, and Bill Nelson
Knowledge engineering software empowers researchers in processing new molecular entities.

  

The Business Page
The Executive Interview (58 KB)
Mike Collins, President and CEO, CEM Corp.: “I wanted to be a pilot; I think I would have enjoyed that.”
Interviewed by James F. Ryan and Kimberly S. Cleaves

The Tool Box
Ultracool NMR technology (164 KB)
by Kimberly L. Colson
Cryogenically cooled probes allow significant inroads into drug discovery and characterization.

Clinical Trials Track
Monoclonal en masse (74 KB)
by Mark S. Lesney
Therapeutic antibodies are moving rapidly into all stages of human testing.

Ready to Read
The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, and the Human Genome (63 KB)
Reviewed by Nancy K. McGuire

Product Info Now (139 KB)

Diseases and Disorders
Celiac disease (60 KB)
by Erik Whitemon