Drug Discovery

Drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. This process involves a complex interplay of biology, chemistry, and pharmacology.

History

The history of drug discovery dates back to the ancient times when man used herbal remedies to treat various ailments. The modern era of drug discovery began in the 19th century with the isolation of active ingredients from plants such as morphine from opium.

Process

The process of drug discovery involves several stages. These include:

• Target identification: This is the first step in the drug discovery process. It involves identifying a biological target such as a protein or gene that is involved in the disease process.

• Target validation: Once a target has been identified, it needs to be validated. This involves demonstrating that manipulating the target can alter the disease process in a beneficial way.

• Lead identification: This involves identifying a molecule, or 'lead', that can interact with the target to alter its function.

• Lead optimization: Once a lead has been identified, it is optimized to improve its properties, such as its potency, selectivity, and safety profile.

• Preclinical testing: Before a new drug can be tested in humans, it must undergo preclinical testing in the laboratory and in animals to evaluate its safety and efficacy.

• Clinical trials: If a drug passes preclinical testing, it moves on to clinical trials, where it is tested in humans.

Challenges

Despite advances in technology and understanding of biological systems, drug discovery is still a lengthy, expensive, difficult, and inefficient process with low rate of new therapeutic discovery.

Future

The future of drug discovery lies in the development of new technologies, such as genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics, which can help to identify new targets and lead compounds more quickly and efficiently.