Beyond genetics, biotechnology will likely continue to improve therapies for preventing and treating disease and infection. New approaches might block a pathogen s ability to enter or travel in the body, leverage pathogen vulnerabilities, develop new countermeasure delivery mechanisms, or modulate or augment the immune response to recognizing new pathogens. These therapies may counter the current trend of increasing resistance to extant antibiotics, reshaping the war on infections.

In addition to addressing traditional viral and bacterial problems, therapies are being developed for chemical imbalances and modulation of chemical stasis. For example, antibodies are being developed that attack cocaine in the body and may be used to control addiction. Such approaches could have a significant effect on modifying the economics of the global illegal drug trade while improving conditions for users.

Drug development will likely be aided by various technology trends and enablers. Computer simulations combined with proliferating trends for molecular imaging technologies (e.g., atomic-force microscopes, mass spectroscopy, and scanning probe microscopes) may continue to improve our ability to design molecules with desired functional properties that target specific receptors, binding sites, or markers, complementing combinatorial drug search with rational drug design. Simulations of drug interactions with target biological systems could become increasing useful in understanding drug efficacy and safety. For example, Dennis Noble s complex virtual heart simulation has already contributed to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a cardiac drug by helping to understand the mechanisms and significance of an effect noticed in the clinical...