Translational Drug Discovery Research: Integration of Medicinal Chemistry, Computational Modeling, Pharmacology,ADME, and Toxicology

Abstract

AbstractDiscovering a new drug is a complex but sequential process from discovery to preclinical development, followed with clinical drug development. It has been estimated that ∼ 87% of the phase III failures are accounted for either due to lack of efficacy (66%) or due to safety issues (21%). Majority of these failures are for compounds targeted for novel mechanisms of actions with unmet medical need, in particular, oncology and neurodegenerative disorders. Some of the reasons for these failures can be attributed to lack of appropriate preclinical animal models, biomarkers/surrogate markers, and effective pharmacokinetic (PK)–pharmacodynamic (PD) evaluation during early drug discovery. Translational research that integrates computer‐aided drug design (CADD), PK, PD, drug metabolism (DM), and drug transport along with biomarkers and humanized animal models are instrumental in making informed decisions from early drug discovery through clinical development. The ability to correlate drug effect through modeling and simulations starts from early drug discovery and preclinical evaluation, including use of novel biomarkers. Such models validate the PK and PD relationships and provide a basis for their applications and guide the Phase I through Phase III clinical trials more effectively, minimizing the late stage failures. Thus, PK–PD evaluation has become an integral part of drug discovery and provides valuable insights to aid in optimizing the next steps for drug development. This chapter is focused on translational drug discovery research with particular emphasis on selective utilization of CADD; absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion; toxicology; PK; and PD evaluations, which identify potential liabilities early so as to minimize late‐stage failures during drug development. This chapter also provides a brief overview on means and measures that can be adopted to integrate early drug discovery research along with efficacy and safety biomarkers for meaningful transition to drug development.