“i try to figure out what molecules in our cells look like and use that info to design new drug candidates” so what

Question: "i try to figure out what molecules in our cells look like and use that info to design new drug candidates" so what kinds of drugs can you make with this information?
- Keywords:
  design,
  drug,
  figure,
  molecules
Asked by sarai0214 to Liz on 20 Jun 2011.
- Lizzard O'Day answered on 20 Jun 2011:
  
  we can make “inhibitors” basically the goal is to try to find a molecule that is important for a cancer cell and a cancer cell specifically to live- then we figure out what it looks like, design a drug and hopefully shut it off. We then see if this drug kills the cancer cell (it usually does) and then we check if it kills healthy cells (it most often does too). This is the tricky part of drug design- finding a molecule that is “selectively” lethal to only cancer cells. It’s a work in progress but we’re making strides.

Question: "i try to figure out what molecules in our cells look like and use that info to design new drug candidates" so what kinds of drugs can you make with this information?