Medicinal chemistry
The latest chemistry news and research on medicinal chemistry including drug discovery, clinical trials, toxicology and science of disease, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
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FeatureThe curious case of disappearing polymorphs
From crystallographers’ beards to billion-dollar lawsuits, the phenomenon of disappearing polymorphs has puzzled chemists for decades. Now researchers are finally unravelling the science behind why stable crystal forms suddenly vanish – and discovering how to bring them back
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ResearchInside-out peptides are part of a new class of isomerism
Could an overlooked conformational contortion invalidate existing drug patents?
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OpinionIndia’s generic semaglutide surge
As patents on Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and weight loss blockbusters expire, generic makers have their versions ready
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FeatureNew treatments offer hope for neglected snakebite victims
Nina Notman meets the scientists developing recombinant antivenoms and small molecule inhibitors to save the lives and limbs of snakebite patients, who number in the their hundreds of thousands
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Opinion‘The truth is supremely valuable and we cannot lie our way to it’
As a scientist with family in Iran, Derek Lowe finds his own government’s approach to truth alarming
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BusinessBoron plays a key role in new sleeping sickness drug
Acoziborole is the first single-dose treatment for both early and late stage sleeping sickness
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BusinessUS moves to roll back ethylene oxide exposure rules
Environmental Protection Agency will relax limits on emissions from commercial sterilisers
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FeatureCone snail venom peptides offer new hope for pain relief
Cone snails deploy sophisticated venom cocktails to paralyse prey. Anthony King talks to the researchers harnessing these peptides to develop new pain medications
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OpinionExperimenting with murder
A criminal mastermind made sure their unusual poison attack would be fatal
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OpinionLetters: March 2026
Readers discuss the long-lasting effects of sabotage, a mix-up of Maxes, and how PFAS regulations might affect inhalers
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OpinionPolicies for advanced wound care dressings in India
India faces a growing crisis in wound treatment, driven by diabetes and an ageing population. A new policy approach could enable Indian innovation to meet this need.
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OpinionPhotodynamic and sonodynamic therapies for anticancer and antibacterial applications
These emerging treatments require a supportive regulatory and policy approach
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WebinarTaking the sting out of pain: how marine venoms can be used to heal
Join us on 24 April to learn how marine venoms are being used to treat chronic pain
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OpinionModerna’s vaccine regulatory hokey-cokey
US FDA initially refused to accept flu vaccine for review, but has since reversed that decision
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WebinarHigh‑throughput retrosynthesis for real‑world chemistry
Discover how retrosynthesis software, paired with application programming interfaces, can accelerate route design, virtual screening and practical synthesis decisions
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NewsExplainer: What is epibatidine?
The science behind the dart frog toxin that was allegedly used to kill the Russian politician Alexei Navalny
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PodcastAlphaGenome & the RNA world hypothesis
In this episode, we discuss Google DeepMind’s latest deep learning model AlphaGenome, dissect the origins of life from chemicals to complex lifeforms, and hear the latest headlines.
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ResearchWorld first for clinical trial of skin patch to monitor therapeutic drugs in real time
Sensor could soon help doctors to prevent overdoses of drugs
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OpinionIs it cold in here?
Labs in Delhi, Aberdeen and Arizona will have different ideas of ‘room temperature’
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NewsIn 2023, the UK was the first country to approve a Crispr therapy. How’s it doing?
Disconnect exists between the media hype around gene-editing treatment and the reality for patients