Innovative approaches to expand medicinal chemistry space

Drug discovery proceeds as a multi-stage process, from the identification of a potential therapeutic target through lead generation, lead optimization, preclinical evaluation to clinical testing, before a new medicine is marketed. Uniting synthetically accessible chemical space with disease relevant biological space represents a significant challenge. Industrial chemical biology approaches have been recognized by pharmaceutical companies as a novel strategy in drug discovery. It encompasses an organizational structure composed of dedicated, specialized teams, thereby enabling a detailed analysis and an optimal use of the chemical and biological space of target classes. The benefits of an industrial chemical biology approaches in combination with automated parallel synthesis and purification will be discussed. A case study for the discovery of novel GPCRs ligands with a focus on the therapeutic areas of Inflammation and Neurobiology will also be presented.