Biology Space

Session Summary:
After the sequencing of the human genome it was expected that a plethora of new potential drug targets would become available.  It is true that the new technological platforms and associated investment of the last decade has resulted in the identification and “validation” of many new targets. However, the translation of this information and targets into new pharmacological treatments has not been proportional.  Human diseases require a better understanding of the complex biology behind the pathological manifestation of the symptoms, and in many cases not just the modification of a single gene product.  Moreover, the simplification of drug discovery is not properly addressing issues such as bioavailability and distribution of the active substance to the appropriate site of action. 

With the aim to address some of these issues we would like to explore in this session some of the current ideas around increasing success rates in early drug discovery activities.  Some of the topics that we will cover include

• The evolution of phenotypic screening in drug discovery
• Alternative mechanistic approaches to screen traditional targets
• The validation of novel biological hypothesis  as  drug target
• Targeted drug delivery