FISHING FOR DRUGS FROM THE SEA - STATUS AND STRATEGIES

Marine organisms represent an enormous, essentially unexploited, resou rce of natural products. Globally, the race to develop marine-derived drugs is well under way with many pharmaceutical companies positioning themselves to reap large profits by the exploitation of the ocean's r ich chemical diversity. Targeted strategies, often in combination with high-throughput screening, are being employed in this hunt for novel pharmacotherapeutic agents. David de Vries and Phil Beart examine the potential, problems and technologies of an international pharmaceutica l search that has important ethical considerations.