Bayesian statistical approaches that explicitly incorporate existing data into clinical trial design, analysis and decision-making have the potential to substantially reduce the time and cost of bringing new medicines to patients in some contexts, but remain underused. This Perspective highlights the value of Bayesian methods in drug development, discusses barriers to their application and recommends approaches to address them.

Investigative toxicology tools and strategies are used in pharmaceutical companies to reduce safety-related attrition in drug development. This Perspective article summarizes the key goals of investigative toxicology, highlights current approaches and discusses selected emerging technologies that have the potential to improve the current safety-testing paradigm.

Galectins are glycan-binding proteins with broad roles in physiological and pathological processes. Here, Rabinovich and colleagues discuss the therapeutic relevance of galectins to cancer and fibrosis and review the various strategies to target galectins and their progress in clinical trials.

Dysregulated protein phosphorylation is implicated in numerous human diseases, but targeting protein phosphates has traditionally proved challenging. Here, Stanford and Bottini provide an overview of protein phosphatase families, focusing on their roles in autoimmunity and tumour immunity. Emerging strategies to tackle these targets and agents in development are assessed.