The 238th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society, held in Washington DC, included topics covering new compounds and developments in the field of medicinal chemistry. This conference report highlights selected presentations on inhibitors of PARP, a heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) inhibitor, NS3 protease inhibitors, a corticotrophin-releasing factor 1 (CRF-1) receptor antagonist, a cannabinoid receptor antagonist, diacylglycerol acyltransferase inhibitors, cathepsin and chymase receptor inhibitors, and MAPK inhibitors. Investigational drugs discussed include veliparib (Abbott Laboratories), MK-4827 (Merck & Co Inc), OB-24 (Osta Biotechnologies), BMS-339, BMS-764459, BMS-812204 and BMS-640994 (all Bristol-Myers Squibb Co), and JNJ-10311795 (Johnson & Johnson).