As the science of drug discovery has grown in scale and gotten more complicated, so have the drug molecules themselves. But there’s a promising class of drugs made of just a handful of atoms that punch above their weight by leveraging the natural chemistry of the cell.
Recent discoveries have opened up a new era of pharmaceutical chemistry that some people are calling a golden age. In this episode of C&EN Uncovered, reporter Laura Howes explains this exciting field of research and its implications for the drugs of the future.
C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN’s podcast, Stereo Chemistry, offers a deeper look at subjects from recent stories. Check out Laura’s cover story on small-molecule drugs at cenm.ag/smallmol.
Subscribe to Stereo Chemistry now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
A transcript of this episode is available at cenm.ag/smallmolpod.
Credits
Executive producer: Gina Vitale
C&EN Uncovered host: Craig Bettenhausen
Reporter: Laura Howes
Audio editor: Brian Gutierrez
Copyeditor: Bran Vickers
Story editor: Mitch Jacoby
Episode artwork: Chris Gash
Music: “Hot Chocolate,” by Aves
Contact Stereo Chemistry: Contact us on social media at @cenmag or email cenfeedback@acs.org.