Hit-to-Lead In-Depth Focus 2018

In this In-Depth Focus:

• PAINS management: an open source model to eliminate nuisance compounds
  High-throughput screening (HTS) technologies have enabled the routine testing of millions of compounds towards the identification of novel ‘hit’ molecules for therapeutic targets. Oftentimes in this drug discovery process, however, compounds that show promising activity in primary screens show no activity during subsequent hit qualification or progression efforts. Alarmingly, these compounds frequently masquerade as false hits in multiple assays against multiple targets, constituting a major waste of resources during drug discovery campaigns.
• Targeting innate immunity to treat disease: potential therapeutic applications
  Despite being one of the more ancient aspects of immunity, therapeutic modulation of the innate immune system has rarely been attempted. Innate immunity is intrinsically linked to the generation of inflammation – necessary for signalling to the adaptive immune system but often self-perpetuating and over-exaggerated, leading to deleterious effects, including sepsis.