Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23868113›Full record

ReviewNature reviews. Drug discovery2013

Validating therapeutic targets through human genetics.

Robert M Plenge, Edward M Scolnick, David Altshuler

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews. Drug discovery, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 391 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
391citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

391 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Charting the proteome landscape in major psychiatric disorders: From biomarkers to biological pathways towards drug discovery.European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022
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  7. Review
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  15. Target identification and assessment in the era of AI.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026
    Review
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331 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Robert M PlengeDivision of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham And Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. rplenge@partners.org
Edward M Scolnick
David Altshuler

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

More than 90% of the compounds that enter clinical trials fail to demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy to gain regulatory approval. Most of this failure is due to the limited predictive value of preclinical models of disease, and our continued ignorance regarding the consequences of perturbing specific targets over long periods of time in humans. 'Experiments of nature' - naturally occurring mutations in humans that affect the activity of a particular protein target or targets - can be used to estimate the probable efficacy and toxicity of a drug targeting such proteins, as well as to establish causal rather than reactive relationships between targets and outcomes. Here, we describe the concept of dose-response curves derived from experiments of nature, with an emphasis on human genetics as a valuable tool to prioritize molecular targets in drug development. We discuss empirical examples of drug-gene pairs that support the role of human genetics in testing therapeutic hypotheses at the stage of target validation, provide objective criteria to prioritize genetic findings for future drug discovery efforts and highlight the limitations of a target validation approach that is anchored in human genetics.

Indexed as

BiomarkersDrug DiscoveryGenetics, MedicalMolecular Targeted TherapyClinical Trials as TopicDrugs, InvestigationalEarly Termination of Clinical TrialsHumansModels, BiologicalPharmacogeneticsTreatment FailureBiomarkersDrugs, Investigational

Identifiers

PMID23868113

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.