This workshop focuses on defining general aspects and approaches to drug discovery, the challenges and opportunities in academic drug discovery, and case histories of drug and probe discovery at UNC.

It is led by ITCMS preceptor Stephen Frye, Director of the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He brings his experiences from his 20-year career with GlaxoSmithKline as worldwide Vice President for High Throughput and Discovery Medicinal Chemistry to convey the process of anti-cancer targeted therapeutics from 'soup to nuts'. He uses the example of the development of MER tyrosine kinase inhibitor MRX-2843, one of the first compounds discovered at UNC, based on biological insights at UNC by Shelley Earp and colleagues, and currently under Phase I evaluation at the LCCC and NC Cancer Hospital.