title: The story so far in R&D.
abstract: Human diseases are a significant cause of suffering and mortality and lead to a consequential need for effective therapies. The need for therapy is as old as human history itself. Therapy has progressed from an age of administration of herbal remedies and organ extracts to an era of serendipitous drug discovery, when the pharmaceutical industry was born, to the dominance of medicinal chemistry and more recently, to the revolutionary advances--genetic engineering and monoclonal antibody technology, high-speed technologies, gene therapy and the deciphering of the human genome--which promise the discovery of completely new targets for new medicines as well as the great potential of personalized therapy.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Prous
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Khurdayan
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000266:history; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D015195:Drug Design; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000266:history*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000266:history*; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000266:history; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000266:history; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000266:history; D012107:Research Design
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal