Advantages | Disadvantages |
---|---|
Phenotypic drug discovery | |
 Allows establishment of the therapeutic relevance early in the drug discovery process | Difficulties in modeling some diseases |
 Does not require knowledge of the mechanism of action | Policy changes considering animal rights activism |
 Enhances the chances of serendipitous discoveries | Does not allow utilization of high technology platforms; low screening capacity |
 High chances of discovering first in c class molecules | Complicated analysis due to confounding factors |
 The process closely simulates the normal physiological environment | Rational drug design is not applicable with this model |
Target-based drug discovery | |
 Allows elucidation of the mechanism of action | Observed responses may not be physiologically relevant in the natural environment |
 Very high chances of developing best in class molecules | Requires knowledge of the underlying mechanism of action a priori |
 Allows screening of vast chemical libraries; high screening capacity | Chances of serendipitous drug discovery are minimized |
 Allows utilization of high technology platforms |  |