Molecular Mechanisms of Drug Actions and Targets

Abstract

In the last 10 years, an average of one drug per year was withdrawn from the market. Using selected examples of such drug failures the course aims at understanding, analysing and discussing the present paradigms of molecular drug actions, the predictive power of animal models, the concepts behind clinical studies and the problems encountered/questions raised.

Objective

The relevance and limitations of our current understanding of molecular mechanisms of drug actions will be analysed and discussed. Drug actions in experimental models shall be compared to drug actions in complex systems such as the human organism and heterogenous patient populations.

Content

„Was it the Molecule or the Mechanism?“ In December 2006, Pfizer stopped a large phase III study on the use of Torcetrapib and Atorvastatin to prevent arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. 800 million dollars in development costs and 21 billion dollars in stocks were annihilated overnight. This is not a single case. In the last 10 years, an average of one drug per year was withdrawn from the market due to unexpected side effects and toxicity. This clearly shows that the predictive value of our current knowledge on the mechansims of drug actions is limited. In the course „Was ist the Molecule or the Mechanism?“ the present paradigms of molecular drug actions, the predictive value of animal models, the concepts behind clinical studies and the problems encountered/questions raised will be analysed and discussed using selected examples of drugs whose development/application has been abandoned.

Resources