Promiscuity of in Vitro Secondary Pharmacology Assays and Implications for Lead Optimization Strategies

J Med Chem. 2020 Jun 25;63(12):6251-6275. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01625. Epub 2019 Nov 26.

Abstract

We conducted an analysis on screening data generated from 1445 compounds against a panel of 130 enzymes, ion channels, and receptors to assess secondary pharmacological risks. Hit rates of these targets as well as physicochemical properties for those hits were evaluated. A majority of targets yielded hits with higher clogP, molecular weight, and more basic character than inactive compounds. Although most targets favored lipophilic hits, the average clogP of hits at a given target did not correlate with its hit rate. Furthermore, a matched pair analysis was completed to determine structural changes that impacted off-target activities. A correlation of binding assays used in this analysis illustrated that some pharmacologically related binding assays are highly correlative and may be substituted for a smaller set of surrogate assays.

MeSH terms

  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Drug Design*
  • Drug Discovery*
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays / methods*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Structure
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemistry*
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / metabolism
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / standards*
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Pharmaceutical Preparations
  • Proteins