Pathway focused discovery

"Signal pathways control a vast range of cellular events and keep cells operating cohesively. Extracellular changes are communicated inside cells via cell-surface receptors, like tyrosine kinase, G-protein coupled receptors, and ion-channel receptors. A signal-receptor complex triggers a cascade of protein interactions." Several companies have novel approaches to discovering drugs through pathway analysis, including:

-Merrimack Pharmaceuticals has developed a computational model of the ErbB receptor network.

-Cellular Genomics' drug discovery platform incorporates several proprietary tools to characterize specific cell signaling pathways. The company is currently targeting several kinases involved in angiogenesis, such as the EphB4 receptor.