Medicine and pharmaceutical discovery are at a historical crossroads, changing the traditional paradigms of both to take into account the wealth of knowledge following the decoding of the human genome sequence. New insights into disease and normal physiology show that many seemingly different diseases are, in fact, closely related at the level of genes and proteins. Thus, much of the progress in discovering new drugs is coming from disciplines and technologies that span many disease areas. At the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research we have established "Expertise Platforms," all aimed at bringing new technologies to bear on understanding the fundamental science behind both normal and disease-related human biology. We are melding the best of our traditional strengths (e.g., large and robust compound libraries) with new ways to detect, screen, and solve disease states.

With fully integrated programs in such areas as Biologics, Global Drug Discovery Chemistry, and Developmental and Molecular Pathways, we are well-positioned not only to drive innovative drug discovery in response to new knowledge, but to contribute significantly to the shared basic understandings of human biology and disease.