Network Systems Biology for Drug Discovery

Systems biology provides a platform for integrating multiple components and interactions underlying cell, organ, and organism processes in health and disease. Beyond traditional approaches focused on individual molecules or pathways, bioinformatic network analysis of high-throughput data sets offers an opportunity for integration of biological complexity and multilevel connectivity. Emerging applications in rational drug discovery range from targeting and modeling disease-corrupted networks to screening chemical or ligand libraries to identification/validation of drug–target interactions for improved efficacy and safety. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2010) 88 1, 120–125. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2010.91