Drug Discovery Chemistry 2014 | Discovery to Clinic - A Medicinal Chemist's Perspective

Kip Harry, Conference Director at Cambridge Healthtech Institute discusses epigenetic drug discovery with Dr. Matthew Fuchter, Senior Lecturer of Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry at the Imperial College London. Questions Include: • From an inhibitor development standpoint, what methods do you use for discovery to lead? • Why do you choose natural products to aid in targeting epigenetic modifiers and is there limited chemical matter in this space? • What opportunities are there for infectious disease and other indications? • What has ignited all this interest in developing second generation epigenetic inhibitors – particularly targeting Histone Methyltransferases, Demethylases and BET Bromodomains? • Have we learned anything from approved compounds? • What are major challenges seen in the development of novel epigenetic inhibitors? • What about safety and toxicity of compounds – is this a major concern? • What talks/topics are you looking forward to during the Epigenetic Inhibitor Discovery Meeting? • How quickly can we expect to see these novel medicines reaching patients in need? • Is combination therapy where we will see the greatest impact in this space? • Some compare the epigenetic enzymes to kinases, where they will provide years of fertile grounds for discovery. What do you think?