Understanding drug targets: no such thing as bad news

• Published in: Drug discovery today 2018-12, Vol.23 (12), p.1925-1928
• Main Author: Roberts, Ruth A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Drug Design; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical - methods; Drug Industry - methods; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions - prevention & control; Humans
• ISSN: 1359-6446; 1878-5832
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2018.05.028

•Safety issues related to target biology remain one of the major reasons for drug project failure.•Assessment of the likely unintended consequences of hitting a particular target is vital.•Target safety assessments should sit alongside disease linkage in an evolving risk:benefit plan.•All drug projects have risks – why not assess and mitigate? How can small-to-medium pharma and biotech companies enhance the chances of running a successful drug project and maximise the return on a limited number of assets? Having a full appreciation of the safety risks associated with proposed drug targets is a crucial element in understanding the unwanted side-effects that might stop a project in its tracks. Having this information is necessary to complement knowledge about the probable efficacy of a future drug. However, the lack of data-rich insight into drug-target safety is one of the major causes of drug-project failure today. Conducting comprehensive target-safety reviews early in the drug discovery process enables project teams to make the right decisions about which drug targets to take forward.