An outstanding one stop shop for drug discovery and development

Drug discovery and development is a complex, highly multidisciplinary endeavor in which practitioners have to have knowledge about a disparate range of topics, from chemistry and biology to outsourcing, patent laws and business aspects. It is not physically possible for any one person to have detailed knowledge about all these areas. What is therefore necessary is a book that provides bite-sized chunks about the most relevant aspects of the science, art and commerce of drug discovery and development that will keep scientists, technologists, lawyers and businessmen up to date with the essentials.

Robert Rydzewski's Real World Drug Discovery:A Chemist's Guide to Biotech and Pharmaceutical Research admirably fills this void. In clear, comprehensive and sometimes witty prose he describes the most essential aspects of the field. He begins with the basics of drug development, including a history of the industry and the challenges that it had to face along the way. Then, in a series of chapters the author leads the reader through a remarkable range of topics. A sampling of examples makes the impressive diversity of scientific, business and legal topics clear; patent law, Hatch-Waxman and Bayh-Dole acts, generics, outsourcing and patent busting, high-throughput screening, stereochemical aspects, mouse knockouts and RNA interference, process research and manufacturing, gene arrays and pharmacogenomics, biotechnology, pharmacokinetics and metabolism, side-effects, structure-based drug design and computational modeling, FDA rules, mergers and acquisitions, project management and leadership and statistics and trends.

This comprehensive choice of topics will bring any interested scientist or individual up to speed with all important aspects of the science and industry. A unique feature of the book is the extensive inclusion of quotes and opinions from leading scientists and businessmen in academia and industry on the state of the art. This gives a personal and practical touch to the presentation and lets the reader know what the experts actually think. It also makes the writing lively and engaging. Rydzewski illustrates concepts with many real world examples and case studies and sometimes with witty analogies.

There are many books on drug discovery and development out there, each of which is focused on one particular specialized aspect. However this is probably the best single stop shop I have seen for individuals who want to get only the most important and current information in the field without delving into too many details. An admirable and comprehensive book that deserves a place on the shelf of everyone in industry and relevant researchers in academia.