Drug Discovery Involves Determination of Target Site, Rigorous Research, High Investment, and Longer R&D Time

 

In the areas of pharmacology, biology, and medicine, drug discovery is essentially the procedure by which new prospective drug candidates are discovered. During the process, numerous steps are taken to reduce the risks associated with such discoveries, from early research and development to regulatory approvals, and marketing strategies.

It can take years and high investment for a new drug to reach the market. The cost of drug development was US$ 2.6 billion, which included average out-of-pocket costs of US$ 1.4 billion and time costs of US$ 1.2 billion, according to a study by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development published in the Journal of Health Economics in May 2019. Therefore, players in the market are focused on effective R&D of new drugs. For instance, in March 2021, Kyowa Kirin Co, Ltd., a Japan-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, collaborated with Harvard University to accelerate discovery and early-stage innovation in translational biomedical science.

The science behind drug discovery is intricate. It starts with the determination of the target site of action of any therapeutic agent. Once this has been determined, the next step is to look for a suitable drug substance that will fit this precise metabolic pattern. Several factors come into play during this process. First of all, the metabolism must be correctly controlled in order to bring about the correct and defined release of the target substance at the right time.

Drug discovery requires rigorous research. It may start with the identification of a suitable metabolic pathway or target organ. This involves establishing a connection between the observed clinical manifestations and the presence of a drug that may effectively target the organ concerned. Drug development then seeks to exploit the nature of the relationship between the drug and the target organ in order to establish a working therapeutic relationship. Several steps may then be required in order to bring the new drug into the clinic.

Drug discovery also involves careful screening and dose determination. This entails administering small, short-term dose doses to healthy volunteers to determine safety and toxicity of the new drug. This process is known as early phase testing. Successful completion of this early phase enables the later phase of the development cycle, which consists of larger, longer-term dose applications.