The small-molecule drug renaissance

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.