Drugs and Drug Candidates: A Challenging Project

1. From Pharmaceuticals to Drugs and Drug Candidates

Taking the lead of a Journal emerges, each time, as a highly challenging project. I cannot forget my first years in the position of Editor-in-Chief of a sister Journal published by MDPI AG, namely Pharmaceuticals [1]. In the first editorial I wrote at the beginning of 2016 [2], I was pleased to announce an increase in the number of full-text views, the launch of four Special Issues, and the appointment of eight scientific experts as editorial board members. I cannot forget, also, that I was counting, week after week, the number of submissions we received. I knew sad weeks with little work and no submissions at all. I knew exciting weeks with an overcrowded office table. Years have passed, and Pharmaceuticals is now a successful Journal [3,4]. It is time for me to face a new adventure, and I found that opportunity in the launch of Drugs and Drug Candidates (ISSN: 2813-2998) [5].

2. Goals, Aim, and Scope

Some will ask: “will a new Journal dedicated to pharmaceutical sciences find a niche and be distinguishable among so many renown competitors?”. The answer lies in the two main ambitious goals defined in the scope of Drugs and Drug Candidates. The first goal is to provide a wide panel of readers with a clear, accurate, and objective information on marketed therapeutic agents, not only for human use, but also for veterinary use. In those manuscripts, synthetic routes, but also pharmacological targets, and economical point of views should be covered by experts from universities and industries. The second goal aims at illustrating each step required to bring a small molecule or a more complex system from an idea to a drug candidate and, hopefully, to the shelf of a pharmacist. That concept is the basis of the organization of the different sections offered to authors. Thus, our public will find reviews and articles describing theoretical approaches (docking studies, artificial intelligence, chemical space), experimental procedures of preparation (including use of special methodologies and any effort made in order to improve yields or environmental impact), radiopharmaceuticals, identification of active ingredients of natural origin, improvement of physico-chemical properties, in vitro assays (including high-throughput screening), in vivo studies, drug delivery methods, clinical trials, intellectual properties and regulatory affairs, as well as analyses of potential markets. A huge program? Yes, and we are committed to fulfil it! Even if chemistry, in the broad sense of the word, remains the first keyword, Drugs and Drug Candidates will enable scientists from different disciplines to find, in the same Journal, the forum and the audience they expect, notably in timely updated topical collections.

3. Call for Submissions

Therefore, do you wish to share your knowledge on marketed or newly approved drugs for human or veterinary use? Do you wish to disseminate your recent results on the search for novel promising drug candidates? Drugs and Drug Candidates, animated by a young and dynamic team, is the best choice you can make! We thank you in advance for your collaboration and your support. We look forward to handling your submission in the very near future.

Jean Jacques Vanden Eynde presented his doctoral thesis at the University of Mons (Mons, Belgium) in the field of organic chemistry and, more specifically, heterocyclic synthesis. Supported by a NATO grant, he had the opportunity of joining the lab of Alan R. Katritzky at the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL, USA). Back in Mons, he created a group dedicated to developing new methodologies for the preparation of heterocyclic derivatives, mostly of pharmaceutical importance. In addition to works describing ultrasound-promoted reactions and the use of solid-supported reagents, the group emerged among the pioneers of microwave-assisted synthesis in Europe, as attested by a first publication on the subject as early as 1997. Wishing to strengthen his skills in medicinal chemistry, he left the University of Mons for a three-year research stay in the College of Pharmacy at Xavier University of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA, USA). Back in Belgium, he pursued his work in designing novel drug candidates, trying to make the experimental synthetic procedures compatible with the twelve principles of green chemistry. Due to his expertise, he has been recognized as an outstanding reviewer by Green Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry (London, UK). Patents, chapters of books, reviews, papers, and abstracts of presentations testify to his scientific activities.

Jean Jacques Vanden Eynde was contacted by Dr. Shu-Kun Lin (founder of MDPI AG) in the early 2000s to edit the session “microwave-assisted organic reactions” of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Synthetic Organic Chemistry [6]. He acted as an Associate Editor of Molecules, Editor-in-Chief of Pharmaceuticals, and chairman of seven editions of the series of International Electronic Conferences on Medicinal Chemistry. In 2022, he enthusiastically launched Drugs and Drug Candidates as a new challenge in his career.