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10 per cent of human genome is target for new drugs
August 30, 2001Around 10 per cent of the human genome can be targeted for the development of new drugs, according to top pharmaceutical industry scientists speaking at the BA Festival of Science at the University of Glasgow today [3rd September 2001].
Speaking at the From genes and cells to healthcare forum organised by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Mark Fidock from Pfizer Ltd. said, “Genomics is already beginning to reshape the way drugs are discovered, with around 3,500 of human genes representing potential ‘druggable’ targets. So far, the complexities of the drug discovery process have meant that the pharmaceutical industry has exploited only 450 targets.”
In light of the human genome project and new proteomics studies, the pharmaceutical industry is beginning to focus on those gene families contained within the druggable genome that have proven to be highly successful in producing marketed drugs. Over the next 5 – 10 years, drug manufacturers will be able to drive towards more effective treatments and identify new mechanisms that may ultimately lead to genetic based treatments.
“A greater understanding of the molecular pathways that lead to disease will provide better targets and more selective and safer compounds,” says Fidock. This will help reduce the rate of attrition - drugs that fail to make it to market due to poor clinical efficacy, or safety – and improve the overall efficiency of the process.
“The human genome project attracted immense publicity, yet it is only the prelude to the work that must now begin,” says Dr Walter Blackstock from GlaxoSmithKline Research and Development. “We need a deeper understanding of cellular processes, particularly in disease. Novel therapeutic targets can be found from understanding how proteins interact with each other and how they work co-operatively in cells as part of larger complexes,”
“From a pharmaceutical perspective, not all genes are born equal,” says Fidock, “and the industry is heavily investing in technologies required to identify those genes that are both highly druggable and disease relevant”.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
“A greater understanding of the molecular pathways that lead to disease will provide better targets and more selective and safer compounds,” says Fidock. This will help reduce the rate of attrition - drugs that fail to make it to market due to poor clinical efficacy, or safety – and improve the overall efficiency of the process.
“The human genome project attracted immense publicity, yet it is only the prelude to the work that must now begin,” says Dr Walter Blackstock from GlaxoSmithKline Research and Development. “We need a deeper understanding of cellular processes, particularly in disease. Novel therapeutic targets can be found from understanding how proteins interact with each other and how they work co-operatively in cells as part of larger complexes,”
“From a pharmaceutical perspective, not all genes are born equal,” says Fidock, “and the industry is heavily investing in technologies required to identify those genes that are both highly druggable and disease relevant”.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
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