Understanding how a small molecule ligand binds to its target is valuable in drug discovery, because it enables more efficient optimization through structure-based design, better mechanistic understanding of molecular pharmacology, and greater confidence in the therapeutic hypothesis from both safety and efficacy perspectives. Recently, Drug Hunter highlighted methods for target identification when the target is unknown.
There are catalysis geniuses (looking at you, process chemists!) and then there are those of us just looking to put compounds in vials. Here are the simplest conditions that'll get you what you want 90% of the time. Beyond that you'll need to ask a guru like Nick White or Malcolm Huestis. Hope this table helps. Explore drughunter.co m for more.
Minipigs have recently gained prominence as an alternative non-rodent in vivo model for pharmacokinetic (PK), efficacy, and toxicology studies supporting human dose predictions. This article provides an overview of the use of minipigs in small molecule preclinical drug discovery research, tracing their historical background and outlining practical considerations for selecting them in studies focusing on hepatic metabolism, oral bioavailability, CNS penetration, and toxicology. It highlights minipigs' unique advantages and makes a compelling case for their continued use in preclinical research.
This article contains a pharmacokinetics reference table ("PK cheat sheet") with common cross-species physiological parameters relevant to PK, including animal size, liver blood flow, kidney blood flow, and body volumes. When interpreting compound pharmacokinetic (PK) data, it's helpful to have reference values to compare experimental data to [...]
Obtaining adequate drug exposure in the brain is key to treating CNS diseases effectively. Recently, Dennis Koester gave us a crash course in CNS drug discovery in a Drug Hunter Flash Talk. Here, he sums up some key points on how to find compounds that cross the blood-brain barrier.
