Drug discovery today
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Drug discovery today · Jul 2013
Editorial ReviewCan emerging drug classes improve R&D productivity?
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The phase between research and successful innovation is known as the valley of death. Increasingly, researchers from the pharmaceutical industry and academia are working together, often encouraged by governments, to cross this 'valley' as they seek to bring basic research to the market. ⋯ Here, we examine this interaction in the UK, the EU and the USA using several specific examples, suggesting that cooperation is still far from perfect and that the return for academia on its research investment is relatively small. Countries are also beginning to use research as a tool of industrial economic policy.
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Drug discovery today · Jan 2013
ReviewDrug repurposing in pediatrics and pediatric hematology oncology.
Drug 'repurposing', that is, using old drugs for new indications, has been proposed as a more efficient strategy for drug development than the current standard of beginning with novel agents. In this review, we explore the scope of drug repurposing in pediatric hematology oncology and in pediatrics in general. ⋯ Almost 10% of drugs with primary uses in pediatrics have been repurposed in pediatric hematology oncology or pediatrics. The observant clinician, pharmacologist and translational bioinformatician, as well as structural targeting, will have a role in discovering new repurposing opportunities.