Drug discovery research candidate

Completed drug discovery research studies indicate that a compound, or class of compounds, mediates a disease process and has potential as human therapeutic agent. Is this lead compound now ready to be transferred from the discovery area to a preclinical development group Should additional, nondefinitive experiments be conducted to characterize more fully the properties of the lead candidate If more studies are considered necessary, what experiments should be done ... 

Salaries in drug discovery research vary widely with such factors as degree level, scientific field experience, size of the company, and geographical region. The best and most current source of information on how all these factors affect the amount of money a chemist can expect to make is the annual American Chemical Society (ACS) salary survey, results of which are published in the Chemical Engineering News. Every candidate should check this out before interviewing. Some pertinent data from the most current one (2006) are summarized in Table 11.1. 

In a typical research and development setting, in the event that a new drug candidate is recognized by the drug-discovery group, then the dissolution rate constant K for that compound under specified hydro-dynamic conditions can be determined from powder dissolution data and practical size analysis by microscopy. 

Identification of metabolic reactions at an early phase can significantly affect the drug discovery process, because bioavailability, activity, toxicity, distribution and final elimination all depend on metabolic biotransformations [1], Once obtained, this information can help researchers judge whether or not a potential candidate should be eliminated from the pipeline or modified to reduce the affinity for CYP antitarget enzymes. 

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