In the latest issue of Drug Discovery World magazine, BioAscent's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Phil Jones, outlines the opportunities for lead generation and the acquisition of compound screening libraries.

'The discovery of novel medicines is a complex but vital endeavour. The range of approaches being used to identify those new medicines is ever widening with, for instance, new modalities creating opportunities to utilise new modes of action for therapeutic gain. However, small molecules will remain a key pillar to drug discovery. Small molecules have an outstanding track record of delivering therapeutic benefit across a range of disease areas and whilst the route to their discovery and proof-of-benefit is long and time-consuming, the successes in improving the quality of life of patients are remarkable. The journeys to such molecules start with a therapeutic biological rationale but rapidly require chemical matter to create a viable starting point for optimisation. The quality of that chemical matter is key to determining the trajectory of success of the project. High quality leads frequently advance more quickly to and through lead optimisation and prove more robust to failure in clinical development. Therefore, the selection of a high-quality starting point is a decision with long-lasting and potentially high-value consequences.'

View the PDF document here.