Computational Approaches In Drug Discovery Development And Systems Pharmacology

Computational Approaches in Drug Discovery, Development and Systems Pharmacology provides detailed information on the use of computers in advancing pharmacology. Drug discovery and development is an expensive and time-consuming practice, and computer-assisted drug design (CADD) approaches are increasing in popularity in the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate the process. With the help of CADD, scientists can focus on the most capable compounds so that they can minimize the synthetic and biological testing pains. This book examines success stories of CADD in drug discovery, drug development and role of CADD in system pharmacology, additionally including a focus on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep machine learning in pharmacology. Computational Approaches in Drug Discovery, Development and Systems Pharmacology will be useful to researchers and academics working in the area of CADD, pharmacology and Bioinformatics. Explains computer use in pharmacology using real-life case studies Provides information about biological activities using computer technology, thus allowing for the possible reduction of the number of animals used for research Describes the role of AI in pharmacology and applications of CADD in various diseases

The network approaches of systems pharmacology and toxicology serve as early predictors of the most relevant screening approach to pursue both in drug discovery and development and ecotoxicological assessments. Computational approaches have the potential to improve toxicological experimental design, enable more rapid drug efficacy and safety testing and also reduce the number of animals used in experimentation. Rapid advances in availability of computing technology hold tremendous promise for advancing applied and basic science and increasing the efficiency of risk assessment. This book provides an understanding of the basic principles of computational toxicology and the current methods of predictive toxicology using chemical structures, toxicity-related databases, in silico chemical-protein docking, and biological pathway tools. The book begins with an introduction to systems pharmacology and toxicology and computational tools followed by a section exploring modelling adverse outcomes and events. The second part of the book covers the discovery of protein targets and the characterisation of toxicant-protein interactions. Final chapters include case studies and additionally discuss interactions between phytochemicals and Western therapeutics. This book will be useful for scientists involved in environmental research and risk assessment. It will be a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers wishing to learn about key methods used in studying biological targets both from a toxicity and pharmacological activity standpoint.

This title covers a wide range of topics relevant to the development of drugs. It provides a comprehensive description of the major methodological strategies available for rational drug discovery.

While systems biology and pharmacodynamics have evolved in parallel, there are significant interrelationships that can enhance drug discovery and enable optimized therapy for each patient. Systems pharmacology is the relatively new discipline that is the interface between these two methods. This book is the first to cover the expertise from systems biology and pharmacodynamics researchers, describing how systems pharmacology may be developed and refined further to show practical applications in drug development. There is a growing awareness that pharmaceutical companies should reduce the high attrition in the pipeline due to insufficient efficacy or toxicity found in proof-of-concept and/or Phase II studies. Systems Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics discusses the framework for integrating information obtained from understanding physiological/pathological pathways (normal body function system vs. perturbed system due to disease) and pharmacological targets in order to predict clinical efficacy and adverse events through iterations between mathematical modeling and experimentation.

In 2011, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with leaders from the pharmaceutical industry and the academic community, published a white paper describing the emerging discipline of Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP), and recommended the establishment of NIH-supported interdisciplinary research and training programs for QSP. QSP is still in its infancy, but has tremendous potential to change the way we approach biomedical research. QSP is really the integration of two disciplines that have been increasingly useful in biomedical research; “Systems Biology” and “Quantitative Pharmacology”. Systems Biology is the field of biomedical research that seeks to understand the relationships between genes and biologically active molecules to develop qualitative models of these systems; and Quantitative Pharmacology is the field of biomedical research that seeks to use computer aided modeling and simulation to increase our understanding of the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of drugs, and to aid in the design of pre-clinical and clinical experiments. The purpose of QSP modeling is to develop quantitative computer models of biological systems and disease processes, and the effects of drug PK and PD on those systems. QSP models allow testing of numerous potential experiments “in-silico” to eliminate those associated with a low probability of success, avoiding the potential costs of evaluating all of those failed experiments in the real world. At the same time, QSP models allow us to develop our understanding of the interaction between drugs and biological systems in a more systematic and rigorous manner. As the need to be more cost-efficient in the use of research funding increases, biomedical researchers will be required to gain the maximum insight from each experiment that is conducted. This need is even more acute in the pharmaceutical industry, where there is tremendous competition to develop innovative therapies in a highly regulated environment, combined with very high research and development (R&D) costs for bringing new drugs to market (~$1.3 billion/drug). Analogous modeling & simulation approaches have been successfully integrated into other disciplines to improve the fundamental understanding of the science and to improve the efficiency of R&D (e.g., physics, engineering, economics, etc.). The biomedical research community has been slow to integrate computer aided modeling & simulation for many reasons: including the perception that biology and pharmacology are “too complex” and “too variable” to be modeled with mathematical equations; a lack of adequate graduate training programs; and the lack of support from government agencies that fund biomedical research. However, there is an active community of researchers in the pharmaceutical industry, the academic community, and government agencies that develop QSP and quantitative systems biology models and apply them both to better characterize and predict drug pharmacology and disease processes; as well as to improve efficiency and productivity in pharmaceutical R&D.

The first book to focus on comprehensive systems biology as applied to drug discovery and development Drawing on real-life examples, Systems Biology in Drug Discovery and Development presents practical applications of systems biology to the multiple phases of drug discovery and development. This book explains how the integration of knowledge from multiple sources, and the models that best represent that integration, inform the drug research processes that are most relevant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The first book to focus on comprehensive systems biology and its applications in drug discovery and development, it offers comprehensive and multidisciplinary coverage of all phases of discovery and design, including target identification and validation, lead identification and optimization, and clinical trial design and execution, as well as the complementary systems approaches that make these processes more efficient. It also provides models for applying systems biology to pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and candidate biomarker identification. Introducing and explaining key methods and technical approaches to the use of comprehensive systems biology on drug development, the book addresses the challenges currently facing the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, it is essential reading for pharmaceutical and biotech scientists, pharmacologists, computational modelers, bioinformaticians, and graduate students in systems biology, pharmaceutical science, and other related fields.

Drug Efficacy, Safety, and Biologics Discovery: Emerging Technologies and Tools covers key emerging technologies in pharmaceutical R & D and how they have substantially impacted (or are currently impacting) drug discovery. The cross-disciplinary collaborations implicit in integrating these technologies with drug discovery operations will fuel the engine for future innovations. This book cuts across the multiple areas of drug discovery, each chapter authored by pioneers in that field, making for a broad appeal to the chemical and biological scientists and technologists involved in drug discovery and development.

The present work offers a snapshot of the state-of-the-art of crystallographic, analytical, and computational methods used in modern drug design and development. Topics discussed include: drug design against complex systems (membrane proteins, cell surface receptors, epigenetic targets, and ribosomes); modulation of protein-protein interactions; the impact of small molecule structures in drug discovery and the application of concepts such as molecular geometry, conformation, and flexibility to drug design; methodologies for understanding and characterizing protein states and protein-ligand interactions during the drug design process; and monoclonal antibody therapies. These methods are illustrated through their application to problems of medical and biological significance, such as viral and bacterial infections, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and CNS diseases. As approaches to drug discovery have changed over time, so have the methodologies used to solve the varied, new, and difficult problems encountered in drug discovery. In recent years we have seen great progress in the fields of genetics, biology, chemistry, and medicine, but there are still many unmet medical needs, from bacterial infections to cancer to chronic maladies, that require novel, different, or better therapies. This work will be of interest to researchers and policy makers interested in the latest developments in drug design.