RE: QSAR - Were half of the current drugs discovered prior to 1930?

I don't believe it (unless one decides that synthesis of a compound in a class (or its biosynthesis by a living organism?!) constitutes "discovery of a (medicinal) class"). By any reasonable definition of "drug discovery", I would be astonished if the proportion of pre-1930 discoveries was as high as 20%.

Dick
  -----Original Message-----
  From: qsar_society-admin---accelrys.com [mailto:qsar_society-admin|-|accelrys.com]On Behalf Of yvonne.c.martin%%abbott.com
  Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 9:19 AM
  To: qsar_society¬celrys.com
  Subject: QSAR - Were half of the current drugs discovered prior to 1930?

  Hi all,

  I received the following e-mail and have been able to trace this only to a talk given by Prof. Bartfai.
  http://www.bio.com/newsfeatures/newsfeatures_features.jhtml?action=view&contentItem=49623739&Page=1

  Does anyone have more information? Do you want to question this statement?

  Yvonne
  ----- Forwarded by Yvonne C Martin/LAKE/PPRD/ABBOTT on 11/14/02 09:16 AM -----
       James B Summers
        11/14/02 08:10 AM

               
                To: Yvonne C Martin/LAKE/PPRD/ABBOTT
                cc:
                Subject:

  Heard an interesting statement in a presentation yesterday. Have you ever seen this statement or know the author:

  Å¸ There are 10,300 medicines but they come only from 433 distinct chemical entities half of which were discovered prior to 1930
            (ref: T. Bartfai, The Scripps Research Institute)
Received on 2002-11-14 - 12:01 GMT