Has the 'biotech revolution' made good on its promises to deliver new wonder drugs? Leland Gershell and Joshua Atkins reflect on this question by tracing the development of the influential new technologies that are being used in drug discovery today. Further comment comes from Jon Duane and Philip Ma, who assess the effect of over-investment in the biotech sector in this month's 'From the Analyst's Couch'. A method at the forefront of biotechnological research — high-throughput screening — is the focus of this month's 'Guide to Drug Discovery' article by Patrick Walters and Mark Namchuk. Michael Goldberg and Isabel Gomez-Orellana examine the impact of new technologies at the other end of the drug discovery pipeline in their review of oral delivery strategies for macromolecular drugs, whose use is presently limited by their need to be injected. Teriparatide, an injectable treatment for osteoporosis, and the first drug to build bone, is highlighted in 'Fresh from the Pipeline'. Two conditions for which new treatments are long overdue are the subjects of reviews — Donald Coen and Priscilla Schaffer examine the potential of new targets to combat herpesvirus infections, and Tim Tully and colleagues describe the impact that basic research into neurobiology is having on the discovery of leads for memory-enhancing drugs. At Janssen Pharmaceutica, interest in the nervous system and an unconventional approach to drug discovery led to the development of the antipsychotic risperidone, as outlined by Francis Colpaert in a 'Timeline' article. And rounding off this month's issue, Janet Dancey and Edward Sausville's comprehensive review considers the crucial issues in the development of kinase inhibitors for cancer in the light of preclinical and clinical experiences so far.