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BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS Patent Strategy for Researchers and Research Managers. By H. Jackson Knight. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, New York, 1996. 166pp. 0-471-96095-0. $64.95. In this book, the author’s purpose was 2-fold: introduce intellectual property concepts and introduce strategic thinking as a tool for patent portfolio management. The chapters about basic intellectual property concepts and global filings are an excellent overview of a constantly changing environment. Basic intellectual concepts including the reason and value patents, the basic requirements for obtaining a patent, the basic parts of a patent, and the existence and meaning of various patent conventions and treaties are described. The overview acknowledges differences among the patent offices and emphasizes the use of patent agents or attorneys to help with these differences. The chapter that describes the development of a strategy begins with the need to evaluate the patentability of an invention. Once this decision is made, a strategy based on a military model is described. The strategy includes the strategy for a specific invention, a strategy for a series of inventions, and a strategy for licensing Throughout his book, the author emphasizes the need for researchers, research managers, business planners, and the intellectual property group to work together to plan and execute the strategy. The patent portfolio should be developed to be consistent with the overall research and business plans of the organization. This book is a thoughtful and informative approach to patent strategy. The author achieves his purpose to introduce intellectual property concepts and introduce a strategy for patent portfolio management in the first 100 pages. The chapters about filing procedures, post issuance strategy, and researcher characteristics could have had more information. However, the cost of the book prohibits a recommendation for personal purchase.
Adele Hoskin Adele Hoskin Consulting CI980433+ 10.1021/ci980433+
A Practical Guide to Combinatorial Chemistry. Edited by Anthony W. Czarnik and Sheila H. DeWitt. ACS Professional Reference Book. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1997. 450 pp. ISBN 0-8412-3485-x. $89.95. Combinatorial chemistry allows chemists to synthesize very large numbers of new substances by condensing a small number of reagents together in all combinations defined a given reaction sequence. It is based on solid-phase synthetic methods that were first developed for the preparation of peptides and oligonucleotides in the early 1960s. The productivity of medicinal chemists can be increased dramatically. The field is so new that at present there are no success stories of new drugs that were discovered using this methodology. The aims of this book are to introduce advanced students to the field and to serve as a guidebook for practitioners. Most of the literature of combinatorial chemistry was previously only available in journal literature or advanced monographs. The contributors wrote their respective chapters in a scholarly fashion appropriate for both newcombers to the field and experts who need a comprehensive reference book. One of the editors (Czarnik) serves as the editor of the new Journal of Combinatorial Chemistry published by the American Chemical Society. Sheila DeWitt received several awards for her pioneering efforts in combinatorial chemistry. The 15 chapters are divided among five sections: introduction, solidphase strategies, solution-phase strategies, equipment and automation, and information management and biological applications. Peter Willet (a member of the editorial board of this Journal) wrote a chapter about
the use of computational tools to analyze molecular diversity. Subjects discussed in other chapters include strategies in building a computational library, the use of spectroscopic techniques to monitor reaction progress, and equipment needed for the high-throughput organic synthesis of chemical libraries. All contributions conclude with references to the journal literature. A glossary is useful for novices. I highly recommend this book for all chemistry collections in university and special libraries.
Bruce Slutsky New Jersey Institute of Technology CI9804342 10.1021/ci9804342
Combinatorial Chemistry and Molecular Diversity in Drug Discovery. Edited by Eric M. Gordon and James F. Kerwin, Jr.. Wiley-Liss: New York. 1998. 516 pp. ISBN 0-4715518-7. $89.95. Molecular diversity involves differences in physical properties that exist among dissimilar molecules. Differences in size, polarity, lipophilicity, or polarizability affect a molecule’s biological activity. Medicinal chemists and pharmacologists have evaluated thousands of substances for their efficacy in treating diseases. Recently, drug companies have been pressured to identify, optimize, develop, and market new drugs in a more efficient and cost effective manner. Combinatorial chemistry provides a new approach in creating molecular diversity. It takes advantage of advances in synthetic chemistry, solid-phase synthesis, microlithography, molecular biology, automation, and robotics to prepare large numbers of highly diverse molecules that may be tested for medicinal activity. In the future, combinatorial approaches may be extended to separation science, flavors, fragrances, and agrochemicals. This book provides a comprehensive overview of combinatorial chemistry and molecular diversity. It is divided into six parts: an introduction to the field, small molecule libraries, automation, analytical and computational methods, biological diversity, screening, and combinatorial drug screening and development. The editors and contributors are experts in the field from organizations such as Affymax Research Institute, Pharmacopeia, Abbott Laboratories, Versicor, and Chiron Corporation. Specific topics considered include protease inhibitor libraries, analytical chemistry issues in combinatorial organic synthesis, protein scaffolds for peptide libraries, and the future of combinatorial chemistry. An appendix that surveys problems associated with managing information derived from combinatorial experiments is of interest to readers of this journal. Ony the first few chapters are appropriate for newcomers to the field. Most of the book is aimed at medicinal chemists, pharmacologists, molecular biologists, and enzymologists who are experienced in combinatorial chemistry. I recommend it for academic and special libraries that support those specialists.
Bruce Slutsky New Jersey Institute of Technology CI980435U 10.1021/ci980435u
