The first complete map of the human genome, released last summer, exponentially increased the number of potential targets for therapeutic drugs. But the map is just a critical first step in discovering the role of a given gene or group of genes in a particular disease and hence in designing a drug to treat the condition. Genes produce proteins, the substances that perform all normal and disease-related processes in the body.
Proteins serve as the receptors, or true targets, for all drugs on the market today.
Therefore, to find a specific point of intervention for a potential drug, it s necessary to identify, and learn the function of, specific proteins. However, this approach generally requires that we understand the function of the protein and that, in many cases, represents a significant roadblock to moving forward with a potentially important target. Surprisingly, some of the earliest successes in breaking through that roadblock that is, in learning the function of unknown proteins are occuring in infectious diseases, an area where drugs target the genes of microbes rather than those of humans. Homologues are microbial genes so similar to their human counterparts that they can t be used as drug targets, for the simple reason that any drug interfering with their function would also interfere with the human gene, creating dangerous side effects. Thanks in part to the Human Genome Project, we at Bristol-Myers Squibb now have identified 113 new microbial genes we believe are promising drug targets that are not sequentially similar to human genes.