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Read Neil’s op-ed to learn why he thinks the biggest biotech breakthroughs come in small packages.

Modern medicine increasingly relies on complex therapies, such as gene therapy and CAR T-cell therapy. These therapies can cure or significantly improve the lives of patients with a wide range of diseases. However, they are also expensive and can be difficult to administer.

In contrast, small-molecule drugs are relatively inexpensive and easy to mass-produce. They also have a longer safety and efficacy track record than complex therapies. As a result, small-molecule drugs are likely to play a major role in the future of medicine.

Here are some of the advantages of small-molecule drugs over complex therapies:

• Affordability: Small-molecule drugs are typically much less expensive than complex therapies. This is because they are easier to produce and have a shorter development timeline.
• Accessibility: Small-molecule drugs can be administered in a variety of ways, including orally, intravenously, and topically. This makes them more accessible to patients than complex therapies, which often require specialized administration facilities.
• Safety: Small-molecule drugs have a long safety and efficacy track record. This is because they have been tested on millions of patients. Complex therapies, on the other hand, are newer and have not been as extensively tested.

Small-molecule drugs are already used to treat various diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. As scientists continue to learn more about the molecular basis of disease, they develop new small-molecule drugs to target specific disease pathways.

For example, small-molecule drugs are now being used to treat cancer by inhibiting the growth and spread of cancer cells. Small-molecule drugs are also used to develop new antivirals and antibiotics to treat infectious diseases.

In addition, researchers are exploring the use of small-molecule drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Small-molecule drugs are also being investigated as potential treatments for autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Overall, small-molecule drugs are a promising new class of therapeutics with the potential to revolutionize the treatment of a wide range of diseases. While complex therapies will continue to play an important role in medicine, small-molecule drugs will likely become increasingly important.