Timely synthetic support for medicinal chemists

In recent years, there have been significant developments made in the way new drugs are being discovered and developed. Such changes are driven by new technologies that have expanded the opportunities to prepare and screen large libraries of compounds in a rapid time frame by the use of high-throughput synthesis and screening techniques [1-3]. These strategies are driven by the need to shorten time lines for bringing discovery leads to the market [4,5]. As a result, the role and needs of synthetic chemistry in the discovery and development of new therapeutic agents has been altered [6]. This paper will explore the roles of synthetic chemists and how pharmaceutical companies respond to the evolving needs of synthetic chemistry challenges in their discovery and development programs.