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Feature: STN - Information solutions for drug discovery and development
Drug development is a lengthy, complex, and expensive process in which gathering pertinent information is critical. The veritable explosion in scientific information has created a strong demand for tools to retrieve relevant data. These tools must access a variety of information sources and organize the data into a manageable, meaningful form. STN offers both a comprehensive source of information in its databases as well as powerful software to extract and analyze the most current, relevant data for drug discovery research. This article highlights various stages of the drug development process in which STN can play an integral role.
Identifying a biological target suitable for drug treatment is an early goal of the drug discovery process. This requires understanding of the disease state being targeted, as well as biological pathways and processes related to it. Nucleic acid and protein sequences are researched to ascertain structure, function, and expression profiles. Animal models are evaluated along with techniques to regulate gene expression in vivo. Information on this wide range of topics is scattered throughout a myriad of sources, including journals, patents, books, conference proceedings, and meeting abstracts, to name a few. Fortunately, this multitude of sources can be accessed using STN.
Once a target is selected, a research team must evaluate currently available treatments for that disease state. Competitive analysis identifies companies that have drugs targeting these conditions in their pipeline and their current stage of development. Several STN databases are dedicated to maintaining up-to-date profiles on important developments in drugs and drug therapy, including drugs in active research and development. The following list is only a sample.
Chemical libraries are screened using high-throughput assays to find small molecules that have a desirable biological activity on the specific target. Once such a lead has been identified, it goes through an iterative process of synthesis and testing. Extensive information on the physical properties of the substance is required at this stage to establish a method of synthesis. Biological assay data are analyzed with the corresponding chemical structures to pinpoint the most promising leads. STN databases provide access to reactions, property data, and structural information as well as nucleic acid and protein sequences. These are essential to the synthesis of the lead compound and the subsequent analysis needed to optimize its potency and specificity. The following is a sample of the STN databases that contain substance and synthesis information.
Pharmacokinetic studies assess what happens to the drug within the organism over time. How much is excreted? How much is metabolized? How much is actually delivered to tissues and cells? Many of the ADME-tox qualities of a compound depend on the physiochemical properties of the drug. Pharmacokinetics and toxicity are initially evaluated in animal models and then extrapolated to predict the effect on humans. STN databases that contain toxicology, substance property data, and pharmacokinetic data include:
Different types of information are relevant at different stages of drug development. While databases consolidate much of the information, no single source provides everything. The cluster feature of STN offers ways to research a topic in multiple databases at one time, saving time and money. Clusters are sets of databases that can be searched simultaneously. Predefined clusters contain databases covering the same subject area or sharing a similar feature, such as being structure searchable. Alternatively, you can create customized clusters that contain only databases that you select. Once data have been compiled, relevant information must be extracted and analyzed. STNs ANALYZE and TABULATE commands offer ways to find specific information within records and display that information in a one- or two-dimensional format. Identifying primary researchers and organizations in a subject area is one of many applications for which these tools are well suited. STN Express offers wizards to assist you with using the analysis and reporting capabilities. Pharmaceutical researchers must always be aware of competitive developments in their industry. Patterns in research trends and competitor activity can be tracked and visualized with STN AnaVist. This interactive analysis and visualization software can show relationships between data such as companies, inventors, and concepts extracted from the titles and abstracts of records. These relationships can provide unique insights into trends in scientific information. As information evolves at ever-increasing rates, scientists need ways to keep pace with the most current research. STNs current-awareness alerts (SDIs) provide a way for the latest information to come directly to you. You simply define a query, and when there are new or updated records relevant to your query, you are automatically notified. These current-awareness alerts save valuable time by eliminating your need to repeatedly search the same topic.
Physicians and patients alike live in hope of more effective treatments for disease. The pharmaceutical industry is committed to innovative research and development, providing medical and pharmaceutical advances that continue to improve healthcare. Drugs expected to gain FDA approval this year include novel treatments for cancer, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and schizophrenia. From preliminary inquiries into potential targets through post-marketing surveillance, information is critical. It must be current, accurate, and comprehensive. It must be gathered rapidly. STNs scientific databases and sophisticated search and analysis tools can help you overcome such seemingly insurmountable challenges.
For more information about the STN interfaces and features mentioned in this article, visit www.cas.org.
Updated: 7/24/2008 3:39:06 PM
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