Large-scale integrated databases supporting drug discovery

Over the past 15 years, genomics, combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput automation have transformed the setting for drug discovery, from an information-poor to a data-rich environment. The next challenge for informatics scientists is to convert the large amount of disparate data produced into useful, integrated information. Consolidation of the different types of information related to drug discovery requires a good working knowledge of database technology, the existence of accepted data standards for achieving uniformity and a complete understanding of the different data systems that are already available. Chemogenomic databases represent the first example of truly integrated systems that make 'omic' technologies directly relevant to small-molecule drug discovery. Researchers within drug discovery programs now have an opportunity to take advantage of new information domains, through the advance and adoption of integrated chemogenomic databases.