Table of Contents

September 2000
Vol. 3, No. 7

FEATURES
34	Proteomics: New tools for a new era Aled M. Edwards, Cheryl H. Arrowsmith, and Bertrand des Pallieres The inability to identify valid drug targets by examining gene sequence information has created a gap between genomics and drug discovery. This gap reflects the fact that in most cases, gene sequence reveals little about protein function or disease relevance. Accordingly, the true value of genome sequence information will only be realized after a function has been assigned to all of the encoded proteins. Proteomics seeks to provide functional information for all proteins. Applying proteomics technologies will not only provide validated targets for drug discovery but will also increase the efficiency of the drug discovery process downstream.
46	The Keys to chemical genomics Kollol Pal Deciphering the biochemical pathways that provide the underlying basis of disease states will result in the identification of a vast array of proteins that will serve as candidates for therapeutic intervention. Many of these proteins will belong to known families with predicted biological function. The biomedical community, however, anticipates that many of these proteins will be entirely novel and have unknown functions, offering an opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to investigate new disease pathways and identify previously unknown molecular targets to address unmet medical needs. Sifting through the enormous amount of genomic data to find a select group of drug targets presents a Herculean task.
59	Improving hepatitis C therapy Stephen A. Charles, J. Milton Harris, Simon Pedder, and Saran Kumar Nearly 4 million people in the United States have antibodies to hepatitis C virus, which indicates at least previous exposure to the disease, if not active infection. Acute infections can develop into chronic hepatic diseases such as cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Roughly 20% of those infected develop cirrhosis after more than 10 years of infection. Infections that lead to liver failure account for many of the liver transplants performed in the United States. The only approved treatments for chronic hepatitis are interferon-a monotherapy and the combination of interferon-a with ribavirin. Interferon-a delivery represents a significant clinical challenge. Intravenous or subcutaneous administration of interferon-a is followed by a rapid decline in serum concentration. The challenge is to slow down the decline so that the drug can do its work.