Genetic Information, Genomic Technologies, and the Future of Drug Discovery

The completion of the first draft of the human genome has provided an unprecedented opportunity to understand the genetic and molecular basis of disease. Parallel developments of new biological technologies, such as transcript profiling, allow scientists to examine almost any biological system in high molecular resolution. Contemporary drug discovery research is now focusing on the identification and validation of pharmaceutical targets in the molecular pathways/systems embedded in this information. Novel therapeutic interventions are being developed and evaluated as a result of this research which will be the basis of innovative pharmaceuticals of the future.