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Expertise in integrativein vivopharmacology has been dwindling for several years. Michael Collis looks at recent initiatives to address the current skills deficit in academia and industry by providing funding for education and practical experience in this crucial discipline.
Companies can decide to pursue switches from prescription (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) status for their drugs for various reasons, such as life-cycle management. Mahecha examines the rationale behind switches, the switch process and case studies of switches in the United States to understand the factors for success and anticipate future trends.
The simplicity and cost effectiveness ofC. eleganshas made it an attractive model organism for high-throughput screening and validation of genomics-derived targets. Kaletta and Hengartner review how this simple nematode can be used in various stages of drug discovery.
Morand and colleagues review the validation of macrophage migration inhibitory factor as a therapeutic target in atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and explore how emerging small-molecule inhibitors could address a possible mechanistic link between these diseases.
fMRI is a relatively new technology that is now being evaluated for use in drug development. This has generated significant interest from biotech and pharmaceutical companies wishing to decrease the risk of drug development. Borsooket al. examine the potential use of fMRI as a tool to integrate drug development and optimize clinical development and later stage clinical trials.
Gender-specific differences in cardiovascular diseases are likely to become more important in therapeutic decisions regarding cardiovascular drug design and development. Regitz-Zagrosek reviews gender-specific differences in the most frequent cardiovascular diseases, and discusses the implications of gender-specific effects of current cardiovascular drugs.
