Fostering venture research: A case study of the discovery that ascorbate enhances adrenergic drug activity

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) enhances the smooth muscle and cardiac activity of norepinephrine, epinephrine, and other adrenergic drugs, increasing the dose response up to threefold and the duration of activity up to fivefold. The effect is not due to the antioxidant effects of ascorbate. The mechanism by which this enhancement occurs is as yet unknown. This discovery has broad implications for utilizing all existing adrenergic drugs as well as for formulating new mixtures for the delivery of such drugs. Despite the clear‐cut pharmaceutical potential of this discovery, it was not begun as a drug development project, and at no stage prior to its patenting was the research funded. As such, the discovery raises some basic questions about how research projects are evaluated; why this discovery was not made before; whether it could have been made by means of a mechanism‐driven research program; and how unexpected discoveries are to be fostered within the broad arena of biotech and pharmaceutical research. Does the current system of concensus‐ and market‐driven research actually yield the kinds of results needed to drive industry innovation and keep the drug pipeline full? Drug Dev. Res. 57:58–74, 2002.