Design strategies for building drug-like chemical libraries

There has been increased pressure over the last few years to design and synthesize chemical libraries that are more 'drug-like' in character. This review discusses what 'drug-like' is assumed to be, then examines recent developments in the prediction of 'drug-likeness'. It is noted that, while many methods allow a scientist to identify 'non-drug-like' molecules with a reasonable degree of certainty, a need still exists for physically meaningful descriptors that allow a chemist to design in 'drug-likeness', rather than relying on a computer to screen out unsuitable compounds.