Twelve years have elapsed since the appearance of the first volume and
it is with great pleasure that the Editor is now able to present volume
15. During these twelve years various fields of drug research have
undergone important, partly revolutionary, changes. A number of these
have already been dealt with, so that the series PROGRESS IN DRUG
RESEARCH contains a comprehensive review of a substantial part of our
current knowledge. The Editor is particularly grateful for the
opportunity of transmitting to those connected with the development of
drugs the extensive knowledge of the Authors, who, without exception,
are themselves actively engaged in research. Drug research is currently
in a state of transformation: reconsideration in the light of the past
and reorientation with a view to the future. To a large extent this is
due to the tumultuous developments in the last 20 years, developments
which are unparalleled in the history of medicine and the consequences
of which cannot yet be completely evaluated. Unfortunately, however, the
current situation is not devoid of its unpleasant and even tragic
aspects, aspects which fall outside the research worker's sphere or
influence. Those connected with drug research, be they in industry, in
universities or in clinics, are aware of these problems, and, as a
result of this awareness, are all the more in need of an aid which will
assist them in ascertaining the current position and in fixing future
goals.