Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
In June 2006, a quadrivalent human papillomavirus (types 6, 11, 16 and 18) recombinant vaccine (Gardasil; Merck) was approved by the US FDA for the prevention of several diseases, including cervical cancer, that are caused by these types of human papillomavirus.
Drews discusses the case histories of several modern innovative drugs — bevacizumab, COX2 inhibitors, enfuvirtide, imatinib and natalizumab — and considers whether they can provide lessons for improving research and development strategies.
'Push' or 'pull' strategies have been only partially successful in stimulating vaccine R&D for neglected diseases. Mossialos and Brogan propose an alternative – a hybrid model in which purchasers share the development risk in exchange for reduced vaccine prices.
A key issue in anticancer drug development is how best to select and evaluate potential combinations of the rapidly growing number of molecularly targeted drugs. Dancey and Chen consider development strategies for targeted-agent combinations, highlighting challenges for their rational preclinical and clinical evaluation, and discussing possible approaches to overcoming them.
Many phosphodiesterases are expressed in the CNS, and are attractive targets for the treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Mennitiet al. review current understanding of the phosphodiesterase gene family in the CNS and the implications of targeting these enzymes in this therapeutic area.
Following the development of the first mTOR inhibitor that successfully improves therapeutic survival in cancer, Raymond and colleagues look at how novel biomarker identification and the use of multitargeted and multimodality therapies could advance the next generation of these drugs.
Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors augment endogenous nitric oxide signalling, thereby restoring vascular reactivity to diseased blood vessels. Ghofrani and colleagues review the evolution of the PDE5 inhibitor sildenafil from a potential anti-angina drug, to an on-demand oral treatment for erectile dysfunction, and its recent re-positioning as a pulmonary hypertension therapeutic.
