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October 2020 / 15 UCSF both started to study whether exposure to these compounds over the long term and with patients tak- ing multiple different medications are impacted by these ingredients, a subject that hasn't been studied a great deal. Researchers Brian Shoichet at UCSF and Laszlo Urban at NIBR were both researching inactive drug ingredients independently and real- ized at a conference over dinner that their research overlapped. The two began collaborating on the research in 2017. The research has screened 3,296 inactive excipients and found that 38 excipient molecules inter- act with 134 human enzymes and receptors. The research was done on cells only, not human patients. In addition, the purpose of the screen- ing was to flag molecules with the potential to pose negative health effects, so further research is neces- sary to determine any actual effects on humans. The research offers the opportu- nity to possibly switch the excipient in medications to more inert sub- stances in the future, based on research on the excipient molecule's effect on patients. This may also mean that new formulations may need to be developed to replace excipients that don't have an inter- changeable excipient that works with the active ingredient(s). The research "The Activities of Drug Inactive Ingredients on Bio- logical Targets" was published in the journal Science. The research was supported by the US National Institutes of Health grants, the National Institute of Mental Health Psychoactive Drug Screening Pro- gram, and FDA grants. rural and underserved areas will be able to purchase fertilizer, increas- ing demand for potassium fertilizer. Specialized fertilizer blends are also expected to experience growth as crop yield increases and amount of crop land in use slows globally. This increase in general fertilizer demand is expected to also posi- tively impact potassium fertilizer demand, even in mature markets. For more info and to purchase a copy of the report for $6,200, visit www.freedoniagroup.com. RESEARCH NOTES Inactive drug ingredients could possibly have previously unknown biological effects Researchers at the Novartis Insti- tutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Cambridge, MA, along with researchers from the Univer- sity of California San Francisco (UCSF) have been studying inert drug ingredients to determine if they are biologically active, meaning that they could lead to unanticipated side effects. Inactive ingredients in med- ications are paired with active pharmaceutical ingredients, which are in small amounts. That means that the rest of a pill, liquid, or injectable medication can be com- posed of ingredients that can include preservatives, dyes, anti- microbials, and other compounds referred to as excipients. Excipients' purpose is to deliver the active drug safely and effectively while also improving shelf stability and the ability to distinguish medications by color (dyes). Many excipients are generally accepted to be safe because of their long history of use and because of previous studies in animals. Researchers at NIBR and