molecules of the month

LEI401 is a selective, brain-penetrant inhibitor of NAPE-PLD, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of various N-acylethanolamine (NAE) signaling lipids, and is a potentially useful tool molecule for understanding the basic biology around this target. The compound emerged as the result of an academic collaboration, including an HTS done with the European Lead Factory. This looks to be a promising example of how academic institutions can collaboratively generate and validate useful tools for basic research.