<i>Johnson & Johnson tried more than a decade ago to bring a fructose metabolism inhibitor to market after chemist Bruce Maryanoff, who discovered the blockbuster anti-epilepsy treatment Topamax, developed several of them. However, the drug failed before ever reaching a clinical trial, and J&J didn’t think funding more research would yield a commercial success, the now-retired Maryanoff said in an interview. </i><p>Topamax is a good example of how drug discovery can work.<p>The substance is an intermediate in the synthesis of a group of potential fructose metabolism inhibitors the Maryanoff group at Johnson&Johnson(J&J) was pursing.<p>Two practices allowed Topamax to be serendipitously discovered:<p>1. Maryanoff's group routinely submitted synthetic intermediates to the J&J compound collection in multi-gram quantities.<p>2. A pharmacologist was aware of the compound collection and became aware of the similarity of the non-sugar part of the intermediate to certain anti-seizure drugs. He ordered some and decided to test it in an in vivo model.<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38039951/download" rel="nofollow">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38039951/download</a>