Network Pharmacology: Reigning in Drug Attrition?

Osama      M. Alian; Minjel      Shah; Momin      Mohammad; Ramzi      M. Mohammad

doi:10.2174/1570163811310020008

Abstract

In the process of drug development, there has been an exceptionally high attrition rate in oncological compounds entering late phases of testing. This has seen a concurrent reduction in approved NCEs (new chemical entities) reaching patients. Network pharmacology has become a valuable tool in understanding the fine details of drug-target interactions as well as painting a more practical picture of phenotype relationships to patients and drugs. By utilizing all the tools achieved through molecular medicine and combining it with high throughput data analysis, interactions and mechanisms can be elucidated and treatments reasonably tailored to patients expressing specific phenotypes (or genotypes) of disease, essentially reigning in the phenomenon of drug attrition.

Keywords: Network pharmacology, drug attrition, systems biology, network medicine