Drug Information Journal最新文献

As part of our continuing research program in the application of computer systems for laboratory scientists, we are developing a chemical reaction retrieval computer program. Program SYNLIB (SYNthesis LIBrary) is a joint research effort between the Chemical Technologies Department, Smith Kline & French Laboratories (SKF), and Professor W. Clark Still, Columbia University. SYNLIB employs very simple graphics instructions that permit the novice user to pose chemical structural questions against a library of chemical reaction citations. The library of citations is gleaned from the published literature and from proprietary research files. Each citation consists of the structural diagram of reactants and products, a literature reference, yield, reaction conditions, steps/reagents, and, when appropriate, disallowed coexisting functional groups. SYNLIB complements the functions of predictive synthesis computer programs (eg, SECS, LHASA), and has been enthusiastically received in our laboratories. The current program strategies will be presented and discussed, along with new research directions that derive from the distribution of chemical graphics technology into the chemical laboratory.

Yesterday's therapeutic compounds were meticulously prepared, elegantly presented, and relatively innocuous (Dunlop). Today's powerful and complex drugs are manufactured with sophisticated technology and require clear, concise, and comprehensive information for the physicians throughout the world in order to provide maximum benefit for the patient. Our company, Merck & Co, Inc, has adhered for many years to strict requirements for full and balanced disclosure in all information disseminated to professionals about our products, including circulars, labeling, and advertising. Our practice is to provide complete information to physicians, pharmacists, and regulatory authorities, both on the recommended uses for our products and on their potential adverse effects. The cornerstone of our international disclosure system, the International Physicians Circular (IPC), is provided for each product and comprises part of the initial submission to each national health authority in connection with application for marketing approval. Each IPC sets forth the company's best scientific judgment with respect to both the positive and negative aspects of our drugs, defining actions, indications, and dosage, as well as all contraindications, precautions, and side effects. These circulars are updated in the process of continuous medical review.

In summary, the medicinal chemist has four new ways to access the information contained in the CAS database: CAS ONLINE, the only structure search system based on the entire CAS Registry database, and three printed services, CA SELECTS, BIOSIS/CAS SELECTS, and CAS Customer-Defined Information Services, which provide abstracts on specialized topics of interest.

Better than two-thirds of the DICs polled responded to the questionnaire, which represents a significant and representative profile of drug information services. The information from this survey was intended to compliment previous surveys and published works on DICs. For administrative purposes this collective profile of DICs provided useful information to anticipate and establish the location, staffing pattern, and service functions for a new drug information center. Future surveys should focus upon not only descriptive parameters of DICs, but also should allow and encourage subjective responses that would compare not only "how things are" but also "how things should be".