EDITOR'S PAGE CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036 (202) 872-4600; TDD (202) 872-6355 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Madeleine Jacobs DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: RudyM. Baum MANAGING EDITOR: Pamela S. Zurer ART DIRECTOR: Robin L Braverman, Nathan Becker (Associate Art Director) Linda Mattingly (Staff Artist) SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Lois R. Ember
NEWS EDITOR: William G. Schutz EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Michael Heylin CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Κ. Μ. Reese
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Patricia Oates STAFF ASSISTANT: Stephanie Wahl EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Victoria M. GHman BUSINESS Michael McCoy, Assistant Managing Editor NORTHEAST: (732) 906-8300. Rick Mutlin (Senior Editor), Marc S. Reisch {Senior Correspondent), William J. Storck (Senior Correspondent), Alexander H. Tullo (Associate Editor), Rachel Eskenazi (Administrative Assistant). HOUSTON: (281) 486-3900. Ann M. Thayer (Bureau Head). HONG KONG: 852 2984 9072. Jean-François Tremblay (Bureau Head). LONDON: 44 20 8870 6884. Patricia L. Short (Senior Correspondent) GOVERNMENT & POLICY David J. Hanson, Assistant Managing Editor WASHINGTON: (202) 872-4495. Bette Hileman (Senior Editor), Cheryl Hogue (Senior Editor), Jeffrey W. Johnson (Senior Editor), Susan R. Morrissey (Associate Editor) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/EDUCATION Doron Dagani, Assistant Managing Editor WASHINGTON: (202) 872-4411. Stuart A. Borman (Senior Correspondent), Louisa W. Dalton (Assistant Editor), Celia M. Henry (Associate Editor), Stephen K. Ritter (Senior Editor), A. Maureen Rouhi (Senior Correspondent), Sophie L. Wilkinson (Senior Editor), Amanda T. Yarnell (Associate Editor). CHICAGO: (847) 679-1156. Mitch Jacoby (Senior Editor). WEST COAST: (510) 849-0575. Elizabeth K. Wilson (Senior Editor). LONDON: 44 1256 811052. Michael Freemantle (Senior Correspondent) ACS NEWS & SPECIAL FEATURES Linda Raber, Head Corinne A. Marasco (Associate Editor), Aalok Mehta (Assistant Editor) EDITING & PRODUCTION Robin M. Giroux, Assistant Managing Editor Melissa A. Braddock (Editorial Assistant), Janet S. Dodd (Senior Editor), Arlene Goldberg-Gist (Senior Editor), Bethany Halford (Assistant Editor), Deanna Miller (Associate Editor), Stephen M. Trzaska (Associate Editor) C&EN ONLINE Melody Voith, Editor Luis A. Carrillo (Production Manager), Vernita V. FrazierTardy {Production Associate), Rachel Sheremeta Pepting (Assistant Editor), Nick Wafle (Manager, Chemjobs) PRODUCTION & IMAGING Vincent L. Parker (Assistant Director) Krystal E. King (Senior Digital Production Associate) SALES & MARKETING Elise Swinehart, Manager ADVISORY BOARD Paul S. Anderson, Shenda M. Baker, Donna G. Blackmond, Ronald Brestow, Stephanie A. Burns, Cynthia J. Burrows, Alison Butler, Margaret A. Cavanaugh, Sibrina N. Collins, Terry Collins, Thomas M. Connelly Jr., Thomas E. D"Ambra, Nance K. Dicciani, Richard M. Gross, Rudolf Hanko, Nancy B. Jackson, Carl A. Jennings, Fran Keeth, Robert L. Lichter, Jonathan MacQuitty, Peter Nagter, George A. Olah, Lura J. Powell, Douglas J. Raber, Géraldine L Richmond, Gregory H. Robinson, Michael E. Rogers, Jeremy Scudamore, Jay M. Short, Ian Shott, Jay S. Stegel, Sergey A. Vasnetsov, John T. Yates Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY John Kistler Crum, Executive Director Robert D. Bovenschulte, President, Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD Theodore L. Brown (Chair); ACS Board of Directors Chair: Nina 1. McClelland; ACS President: Eisa Reichmanis; Charles P. Casey, Peter C. Jurs, William W. Leong, Peter J. Stang Copyright 2003, American Chemical Society Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347
Pharmaceuticals R Us interest in natural products drug discovery &EN'S "ANNUAL" ISSUE ON PHARMAas it embraced combinatorial chemistry ceuticals is a misnomer. True, once as the primary source of compounds for a year, around the time of the Conscreening." vention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients Although this thesis may be controvermeeting (CPhI)—which this year is in sial among combinatorial chemistry enthuFrankfurt, Germany Oct. 27-29 - C&EN has a cover story titled "Pharmaceuticals." siasts, Rouhi maintains that "my take-home message is that all drug discovery techBut as C&EN readers know, pharmanologies have a role to play" ceuticals are a topic of central importance to us. We cover the Her second story looks at subject in some form in every small and big pharma compaissue, for a very important reanies that have significant natson: The largest single employural products drug discovery er ofchemists and C&EN readprograms. The third story deers is the pharmaceutical and scribes how synthetic organic related life sciences industries. chemistry multiplies the poAt least 40% of our readtential of natural products as ers work on some aspect of drug leads. pharmaceuticals and life sciAlso in this issue, Senior ences. These readers include Editor Rick Mullin, based in researchers in university, in- PROMISING Edison, N.J., writes about the dustry, and government labo- PharmaMar believes use of venture-capital funds ratories whose work leads to marine organisms by major pharmaceutical fundamental understanding of such as Anemonia companies to find and foster the chemistry of disease and melanaster can be a new technology (page 23); drug action; medicinal and syn- source of drugs. Houston Bureau Head Ann thetic organic chemists who ~ Thayer, also a Ph.D. chemist design, test, and develop drug candidates; who covers the drug and biotechnology inprocess chemists and engineers who scale up dustries for C&EN, writes about drug and production ofintermediates and active pharbiotech stock prices (page 37); and Asia-Pamaceutical ingredients for clinical trials and cific Bureau HeadJean-François Tremblay, commercialization; technicians whose work based in Hong Kong, writes about the sucis critical to all the foregoing activities; R&D cess of Indian bulk drug and pharmaceutimanagers who direct the teams that bring cal ingredient producers (page 41). products to fruition; marketing, sales, and At one time or another, almost every regulatory specialists who work with cusC&EN reporter—in seven news bureaus tomers and government; CEOs and other stretching from Hong Kong to Londonofficials of organizations where C&EN writes about topics related to pharmaceureaders work; and investment and venture- ticals. If you're one of 20,000 people excapital specialists who fund the research. pected to attend CPhI later this month in Frankfurt, please stop by the C&EN stand The C&EN staff has enormous phar(P902 in Hall 9.1) and meet this year's maceutical expertise. Senior CorresponC&EN CPhI editorial team: Deputy Edident Maureen Rouhi, author of this week's tor-in-Chief Rudy Baum, Assistant Mancover stories (beginning on page 77), is a aging Editor for Business Michael McCoy Ph.D. chemist whose previous articles have Rouhi, and Mullin. They won't be wearing covered the challenges facing custom chemT-shirts reading "Pharmaceuticals R Us," ical manufacturers; the implications of drug but that's this week's take-home message crystal polymorphism on intellectual propfrom C&EN. erty, efficacy and safety; the efforts of fine chemicals companies to deliver the inHere's our pledge: If you keep reading creasingly complicated chiral small moleC&EN, we'll keep providing you with the cules of the future; and generic drugs. information you need to keep abreast of the most important developments in the Her stories this week explore the critical pharmaceutical and life sciences world. role of natural products in drug discovery In thefirststory Rouhi explains, "I explore the thesis that the currently low productivity of the pharmaceutical industry may Editor-in-chief be due in part to the industry's diminished
C
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS. HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
C & E N / OCTOBER
13, 2003
5
