The Future of Drug Discovery

The future of drug discovery

Mankind will always be seeking to create molecular medicines which can solve the health issues we face. Chemical technology is the primary force which can make mankind more healthy, productive, and content as we proceed past our biological prime. Discovering drugs which can do this is thus one of the great intellectual challenges we face. As we proceed into an era with more and more sophisticated research and development tools, we also need to ask difficult questions about how we discover drugs.

Will we continue to spend time and money screening hundreds of compounds in vitro without considering their in vivo usefulness?

Will we continue to harm innocent animals in the name of data which is increasingly overshadowed by machine learning and artificial intelligence prediction capabilities?

Will we continue to target the same molecular mechanisms which do not provide therapeutic value to the majority of patients?

I believe these are the three main questions which will define the future of pharmaceutical chemistry. The way we answer them will be a fundamental factor in our success in developing chemical technologies.