New approaches and technologies in drug design and discovery

Traditional and novel approaches to drug design and screening techniques and strategies are described, and the potential benefits of new technologies are discussed. Sophisticated new approaches and technologies in the discovery and design of new drugs are replacing the traditional methods. Rational or structure-based methods of drug design and discovery that integrate techniques of x-ray crystallography, computational chemistry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are becoming the predominant methods. New technologies and methods for drug screening may yield significant savings in time and money, as well as increased diversity and specificity of lead compounds. Intense research activity is now being focused on small-molecule structure-based drug design, in which drugs would mimic the complex molecular interactions of natural proteins. The new approaches and technologies hold promise for dramatic therapeutic advances, particularly in the areas of transcriptionally active drugs and gene therapy. Rapid advances in drug design and screening, brought about through new technologies, may yield significant therapeutic advances and cost-effective therapies.