Challenges for medicinal chemistry

Medicinal chemistry has become the most time-consuming step in the drug discovery process, and new discovery technologies are likely to increase the burden on lead optimization and refinement. Although medicinal chemists are able to optimize hits/leads very quickly and successfully with regard to potency, improving the kinetic, metabolic and toxicological properties of a compound remains a difficult challenge. The author examines the role of the medicinal chemist in this increasingly complex and changing environment.