Physicochemical profiling: overview of the screens

Area of Science:

• Drug discovery and development
• Medicinal chemistry
• Pharmacokinetics

Background:

• Physicochemical properties are crucial for predicting Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) of drug candidates.
• Early assessment of these properties streamlines the drug discovery pipeline.
• Understanding physicochemical parameters ensures accurate experimental design and data interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of physicochemical screens in early drug discovery.
• To outline key physicochemical properties evaluated in drug development.
• To discuss methodologies for assessing these critical properties.

Main Methods:

• Physicochemical property assessment including integrity, pKa, lipophilicity, solubility, and permeability.
• Implementation of literature-based methods and development of proprietary assays.
• Utilization of commercial instrumentation for high-throughput data generation.

Main Results:

• Physicochemical screens provide essential data for informed decision-making in drug discovery.
• Established methods and commercial tools enable rapid and reliable property determination.
• Consistent data generation supports efficient progression of drug candidates.

Conclusions:

• Physicochemical screening is indispensable for successful drug discovery.
• A comprehensive understanding of key properties guides candidate selection and optimization.
• The integration of various assessment methods ensures robust data for ADME prediction.