Drug researcher: Hard times ahead for drug discovery

Drug researcher and blogger Derek Lowe has some interesting thoughts on the future of drug discovery. With the easiest types of research projects headed overseas, U.S. researchers will be left to deal with the toughest jobs. And those jobs are increasingly being handled by smaller, risk-taking discovery companies. Big Pharma, meanwhile, is laying off more and more researchers as it continues to play it safe. And life won't get any easier for research scientists as the field undergoes a fundamental shift.

"Those of us trying to make a living through science and drug discovery are going to have to scramble for it," writes Lowe in "Hard Times: A Manifesto." "We're going to have to prove our worth to those who are in a position to pay for us, and we're going to have to try to make as many of our own opportunities as we can."

- read the blog

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