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 Good
things in small packages
by Randall C. Willis
PDF
version (440 KB PDF)
For all of the technical advances that have been made that allow researchers to
identify greater numbers of lead compounds and screen wider arrays of cell types,
pharmaceutical specialists are still challenged by the prospect of getting the
right compound to the right spot in the human body where it can have the maximum
effect. Researchers are looking to nanotechnology to provide drug delivery vehicles
that carry large therapeutic payloads.
 Special
Section: Birth of a drug
by Aalok Mehta
PDF
version (250 KB PDF)
Drug discovery is a remarkably robust field. The pharmaceutical industry continues
to weather tough economic times better than most other sectors and continues to
pour money into R&D. New treatments are constantly emerging, giving hope to
both the terminally stricken and the perpetually pained. And for chemists, drug
discovery offers numerous jobs with a very real purpose and a human face, involving
them in all aspects of the process, from the inception of the idea to the handoff
of a potential chemical candidate to the development organization.
 Drug
resistance and microarrays
by Chung-Hae Lee and Pascale F. Macgregor
PDF
version (120 KB PDF)
In cancer research, great hopes were held that microarrays would break the code
of cancer cells, leading to better detection and more accurate diagnosis and prognosis.
Visions blossomed of personalized medicine, better response rates, decreased side
effects and drug resistance, and, eventually, higher cancer cure rates. But thousands
of microarray papers later, what have we learned, and where are the success stories?
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