Review on modern drug discovery process

Abstract

Drug discovery is a process, which aims at identifying a compound therapeutically useful in treating and curing a disease. Developing a new drug from original idea to the launch of finished product is a complex process which can take 12-15years and cost in excess of $1 billion. The process of drug discovery involves the identification of candidates, synthesis, characterization, screening and assays for therapeutic efficacy. Once a compound has shown its value in these tests, it will begin the process of drug development prior to clinical trials. Drug discovery and development is an expensive process due to high cost of R & D and human clinical tests.