Zeitschrift für klinischen Diabetes

Abstrakt

Six Decades of Drug Discovery: Challenges with Supply and Demand

John C Clapham

Six Decades of Drug Discovery in Type-2 diabetes has resulted in the launch of small molecule and peptide drugs from eight classes yet metformin, launched in 1956, is still first line therapy. The huge challenges in discovering and launching drugs in complex diseases such as type-2 diabetes result in many failures due to high attrition. This in turn reflects on the costs of new drugs for these diseases putting pressure on healthcare systems where the impact is most critical in countries with undeveloped or developing healthcare systems but where the incidence of type-2 diabetes will outstrip countries with advanced healthcare systems.