Drug discovery and development using chemical genomics

Now that the human genome is completely sequenced, it is important to convert this wealth of knowledge to therapeutic drugs. It is documented that there are approximately 30,000 genes in the human genome that may code for approximately 100,000 proteins. Traditionally, the drug development process starts with a protein target, taking approximately eight to ten years for a drug to pass all the critical steps of testing before reaching the market. If this situation continues it will take several decades before all potential drug targets are tested and developed. Chemical genomics is a new paradigm in which chemistry is utilized early in the development process along with other tools such as genomics, proteomics, combinatorial chemistry and cell-based screening to accelerate the drug development process. Utilizing chemical genomics not only reduces the risk of drug failure but it can increase the number of potential targets for drug development.