The November, 2008 issue is a special one for Drug Discovery & Development magazine, as we mark 10 years of publishing.
Back in 1998, the US population was 269 million, the President was busy denying an affair with an intern, and Viagra hit the market. In the world of drug research, high throughput screening and combinatorial chemistry were the buzzwords.
Started as a supplement to R&D magazine before standing on its own in 1999, the publication has captured the technologies, trends, and scientists involved in drug and life science research for the past decade.
Today, the US population of 300 million is both older and more diverse, the economic and political environments are unsettled, and drug companies have both development and credibility issues. What happened on the road to this point? What lies ahead?
To mark this milestone, we asked our readers to describe the successes, challenges, and changes of the last 10 years, and what they envision for the next decade. We also invited pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and industry suppliers to reflect on the history and made predictions about future of the industry. We share some of those comments in this issue and on www.dddmag.com.
We heard many opinions about the future challenges facing the industry—from technologies that will be needed to carry the research load—to pressures of government regulations—to funding issues in tough economic times—to outsourcing and globalization. And, then, there is the science …
Take a brief stroll down memory lane. But, more importantly, read how researchers and industry suppliers feel about the road that lies ahead.
Our coverage starts in the print magazine, but continues on www.dddmag.com. There’s much more there, including some interesting "bold predictions" on what the future many hold from 50 companies.
CROs
Southern Research Institute
SRI International
Pharma/Biotech
Alkermes, Inc.
AVEO Pharmaceuticals
BioMS Medical Corp.
Gemin X Pharmaceuticals
iCardiac
Infinity Pharmaceuticals
Lantheus Medical Imaging
Merck & Co.
Oncolytics Biotech, Inc.
PolyMedix, Inc.
Sirtris, A GSK Company
Industry Suppliers
Absorption Systems LP
Affymetrix Inc.
Artel
Assay Depot
BayBio
BioTek Instruments
Caliper Life Sciences
Carestream Molecular Imaging
Celsis In Vitro Technologies
Cisbio Bioassays
Corning Incorporated, Life Sciences
ESA Biosciences, Inc.
FEI Company
Fluxion Biosciences
GalChimia
GE Healthcare Life Sciences
Good Products Ltd.
High Throughput Genomics
innovatis AG
MDS Pharma Services
Microsoft, Inc.
Millipore Corporation
Netzsch Fine Particle Technology
Nikon Instruments, Inc.
Phenomenex
RTS Life Science
SAS
Symyx Technologies, Inc.
Synaptic Science LLC
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Scientific Instruments
The complexity of business, regulatory, and science issues surrounding the drug discovery and development process has transformed the way research is conducted. A simple roadmap is no longer enough. Drivers on this drug research road need their own form of GPS to navigate to the desired destination.
Also in the November issue:
This issue also provides some direction in areas defined as having "high impact" during the next 10 years:
- Still in the formative stages, nanotechnology offers promise for drug delivery.
- On the road to personalized medicine, researchers are employing pharmacogenomics to reduce adverse events, increase efficacy of new and existing drugs, and design drugs for patients according to genotype.
- Continuing the personalized medicine theme, Senior Editor James Netterwald looks at the dynamics between drug development and PCR-based companion diagnostic assays.
An alternate version of this column appeared in Drug Discovery & Development, Vol. 10, Number 11, November, 2008, page 6.
