Book excerpt: With its focus on drugs so recently introduced that they have yet to be found in any other textbooks or general references, the information and insight found here makes this a genuinely unique handbook and reference. Following the successful approach of the previous volumes in the series, inventors and primary developers of successful drugs from both industry and academia tell the story of the drug's discovery and describe the sometimes twisted route from the first drug candidate molecule to the final marketed drug. The 11 case studies selected describe recent drugs ranging across many therapeutic fields and provide a representative cross-section of present-day drug developments. Backed by plenty of data and chemical information, the insight and experience of today's top drug creators makes this one of the most useful training manuals that a junior medicinal chemist may hope to find. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has endorsed and sponsored this project because of its high educational merit.