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Phenotypic screens as a renewed approach for drug discovery


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Well before molecular target-based drug discovery became popular, phenotypic-based screening strategies were the foundation of pharmaceutical drug discovery (Fig. 1). In the past 25 years, molecular target-based drug screening has become the main drug discovery paradigm used in both the pharmaceutical industry and in academic translational research centers. Recently, however, there appears to be renewed interest in reinventing phenotypic screens for lead discovery

The significant reduction in the number of newly approved drugs in the past decade has been partially attributed to failures in discovery and validation of new targets. Evaluation of recently approved new drugs has revealed that the number of approved drugs discovered through phenotypic screens, an original drug screening paradigm, has exceeded those discovered through the molecular target-based approach. Phenotypic screening is thus gaining new momentum in drug discovery with the hope that this approach may revitalize drug discovery and improve the success rate of drug approval through the discovery of viable lead compounds and identification of novel drug targets.

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