Webster Santos joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the intricate process of drug discovery and the rigorous multidisciplinary approach required to develop new pharmaceuticals. Santos is exploring a new weight loss compound that has the potential to help people lose weight without exercise and retain muscle. 

“Curious Conversations” is available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

Takeaways

To take a drug from discovery to market takes about $2 billion and 12 years. Only about 2 percent of molecules make it through the entire process.

Santos is exploring a compound that aims to increase energy expenditure at the cellular level as a means of helping people lose weight. 

If successful, the compound would differ from many popular weight loss drugs, which focus on controlling appetite, by helping people retain muscle mass during the process. Santos said with many of the other compounds, up to 40 percent of weight loss comes from lost muscle. 

About Santos

Santos is a professor of chemistry and the Cliff and Agnes Lilly Faculty Fellow in the College of Science. He also directs the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, which is affiliated with the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.

Learn more

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About the podcast

"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Produced and hosted by Travis Williams, assistant director of marketing and communications for the Office of Research and Innovation, university researchers share their expertise and motivations as well as the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.

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