A new phase of drug discovery? The rise of PK/PD means extremely challenging work at the coalface

“...candidates that had an increased likelihood of success were those where integrated understanding of exposure at the site of action, target occupancy and resultant expression of pharmacological activity in the target organ existed.” Bioanalysis was of no importance to drug discovery for 65 years. Today, it seems almost impossible that a drug could be discovered, developed and marketed without extensive bioanalysis. This brief editorial looks back at drug discovery practices and tries to provide a logical sequence of thinking and events that led to today. The author's belief is that the ingenuity and skills of bioanalytical scientists will be tested...