Successful Drug Discovery, Volume 5

These campaigns frequently deliver mediocre hits with micromolar potency and insufficient physicochemical properties, selectivity or ADME parameters. When pursuing licensing negotiations with business development units at universities and pharmaceutical ventures, different opinions on the maturity and valuation of the project may lead to significant disappointment on both sides. While the university side may be convinced that the identified micromolar asset is just ready to go into clinical development, the pharma side may consider the obtained structure as an advanced hit or early lead, at best. This will undoubtedly complicate definition of milestones and payment terms. Here both sides have to openly interact and educate each other.

However, the previously mentioned examples demonstrate the invaluable contributions of academic medicinal chemists to drug discovery. Many new approaches have already been brought to practice. A large number of academically developed drugs is listed in the WHO list of essential drugs. Also financially, it can pay off for a university to pursue drug discovery and try to convert ideas and concepts from fundamental science into clinical practice. The reduced internal research in big pharma calls for new models, and more scientists with experience in the pharmaceutical industry are starting groups in academic settings and importing the knowledge of the drug industry into universities. Specifically, the increased demand for translational research calls for professionalized drug research at academic centers and will make drug discovery a vital and indispensable discipline at academic institutions.

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