June 1, 2011 (Vol. 31, No. 11)

URL:
http://drugbank.ca

Rating:
Strong Points: Many browse options, different classes of drugs
Weak Points: Nothing major

Summary:

If you have any interest in pharmaceuticals, then you can “bank” on the fact that you’ll find DrugBank to be a fantastic resource. Of the “molecule-target interaction” variety, DrugBank is different from many of the other databases out there in its emphasis on pharmaceutical data. It contains FDA-approved biotech (protein/peptide) drugs, FDA-approved small molecule drugs, and a large number of experimental drugs. Together, these categories represent over 10,000 entries. As useful as it is to search databases, I always appreciate an option to browse. DrugBank, in fact, gives me (and you!) six such options: browse by drug name, therapeutic category, interacting gene/enzyme, pathway, chemical class, or association (target, enzyme, carrier, or transporter). For each compound, general chemical information is provided in addition to taxonomy, pharmacology, pharmacoeconomics, references, drug interactions, and targets.

Previous articleDefiante Takes Over Additional Territories for Marketing Dyax’ HAE Drug
Next articleEvotec Pays €10.25M for Galapagos’ Compound-Management Business