Protein therapeutics: promises and challenges for the 21st century

Recent advances in massively parallel experimental and computational technologies are leading to radically new approaches to the early phases of the drug production pipeline. The revolution in DNA microarray technologies and the imminent emergence of its analogue for proteins, along with machine learning algorithms, promise rapid acceleration in the identification of potential drug targets, and in high-throughput screens for subpopulation-specific toxicity. Similarly, advances in structural genomics in conjunction with in vitro and in silico evolutionary methods will rapidly accelerate the number of lead drug candidates and substantially augment their target specificity. Taken collectively, these advances will usher in an era of predictive medicine, which will move medical practice from reactive therapy after disease onset, to proactive prevention.