Ion channel drug discovery is a rapidly evolving field fuelled by recent, but significant, advances in our understanding of ion channel function combined with enabling technologies such as automated electrophysiology. The resurgent interest in this target class by both pharmaceutical and academic scientists was clearly highlighted by the over-subscribed RSC/BPS 'Ion Channels as Therapeutic Targets' symposium in February 2009. This book builds on the platform created by that meeting, covering themes including advances in screening technology, ion channel structure and modelling and up-to-date case histories of the discovery of modulators of a range of channels, both voltage-gated and non-voltage-gated channels. The editors have built an extensive network of contacts in the field through their first-hand scientific experience, collaborations and conference participation and the organisation of the meeting at Novartis, Horsham, increased the network enabling the editors to draw on the experience of eminent researchers in the field. Interest and investment in ion channel modulation in both industrial and academic settings continues to grow as new therapeutic opportunities are identified and realised for ion channel modulation. This book provides a reference text by covering a combination of recent advances in the field, from technological and medicinal chemistry perspectives, as well as providing an introduction to the new 'ion channel drug discoverer'. The book has contributions from highly respected academic researchers, industrial researchers at the cutting edge of drug discovery and experts in enabling technology. This combination provides a complete picture of the field of interest to a wide range of readers.

A rapidly growing field, this book covers the recent advances in screening technology, ion channel structure and modelling, with up-to-date case histories.

This book is built around ion channel research and, more specifically, ion channels as important therapeutic drug targets. Under the editorial leadership of Gary Stephens in academic research and Edward Stevens from industry, the aim is to bring these strands together to provide a cutting-edge translational reference on ion channel drug discovery. Exploiting our knowledge of ion channel structure and function has clear current and future potential to intervene and correct the pathophysiology associated with debilitating conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, pain, epilepsy, and neurodegenerative disorders. Individual chapters have a disease focus, also providing a “case study story” that will also appeal to a clinical audience, while background information on a given ion channel is presented to provide a solid reference for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Edited by the most prominent person in the field and top researchers at US pharmaceutical companies, this is a unique resource for drug developers and physiologists seeking a molecular-level understanding of ion channel pharmacology. After an introduction to the topic, the authors evaluate the structure and function of ion channels, as well as related drug interaction. A section on assay technologies is followed by a section each on calcium, sodium and potassium channels. Further chapters cover genetic and acquired channelopathies, before the book closes with a look at safety issues in ion channel drug development. For medicinal and pharmaceutical chemists, biochemists, molecular biologists and those working in the pharmaceutical industry.

This book discusses voltage-gated ion channels and their importance in drug discovery and development. The book includes reviews of the channel genome, the physiological bases of targeting ion channels in disease, the unique technologies developed for ion channel drug discovery, and the increasingly important role of ion channel screening in cardiac risk assessment. It provides an important reference for research scientists and drug discovery companies.

Ligand and voltage-gated ion channels are highly regulated protein molecules that cross the cell membrane allowing ion flow from one side of the membrane to the other. They are ubiquitously expressed in human tissues and consist of one of the largest and best understood functional groups of proteins, with more than 400 members spanning nearly 1% of the human genome. They are involved in a variety of fundamental physiological processes, and their malfunction causes numerous diseases. In terms of the challenges faced in the effort to discover specific drugs in ancient and emerging diseases, ion channels are the third-largest class of target proteins after G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and kinases. 15% of small molecule drug targets have been reported to be voltage- or ligand-gated ion channels, resulting in approximately 150 new drug candidates in preclinical and clinical studies. Of the ion channel targeting drugs found on the market, these were identified more than a decade ago, and many of the current studies are at various stages of scientific approval. Overcoming these challenges has led the field of ion channel drug discovery to transform over the past 15 years through major advancements in genetic target detection, validation, structure-based drug design, and drug modeling of cell-based diseases.