For the past decade, the number of molecular targets for approved drugs has been debated. However, if we are to develop predictive methods to identify potential new drug targets, it is important that we establish with confidence the number, characteristics and biological diversity of targets of approved drugs. The perspective article by Overington et al. and accompanying poster provide a comprehensive survey of current drug targets, and a wealth of associated information on the characteristics of target families and the drugs that modulate them.
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Editorial
What's in a number?
doi:10.1038/nrd2205
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 5, 975 (2006)
Poster
The molecular pharmacopoeia
John P. Overington, Bissan Al Lazikani and Andrew L. Hopkins
Download a high-resolution PDF of the poster (2,000 KB)
Perspective
How many drug targets are there?
John P. Overington, Bissan Al-Lazikani and Andrew L. Hopkins
doi:10.1038/nrd2199
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 5, 993-996 (2006)