PROTEOMICS - A NEW WAY FOR DRUG TARGET DISCOVERY

The results of the genome projects and the obvious problems with handl ing, storing and interpretation of generated data pose a lot of pressu re on existing strategies in drug target discovery and development of new therapeutic concepts. Genomic data, i.e. DNA/RNA sequences identif ied by subtractive expression pattern analysis, are not enough per se for a clear Identification of a therapeutic target, mainly because pro teins and not DNA/RNA are the loci for drug mode-of-action. The effect s seen on the gene expression level are only a response to drug effect s on the protein level. In addition, there is not always a direct corr elation between gene expression and protein expression. Therefore, the major focus of current efforts in drug discovery is the linkage betwe en the genes and the function. One of the most powerful technologies f or this purpose is now evolving and has been designated as Proteomics.