Targets
Hits
Lead Structure
Improved Leads
Compound Library
Preclinical Development
Drug Development
Clinical Development
Registration
Launch
Molecular Biology
(Target Finding)
Molecular Biology
(Target Finding)
Biochemistry
(High Throughput Screening)
Biochemistry
(High Throughput Screening)
Structural Biology
and Molecular Modeling
Structural Biology
and Molecular Modeling
Research
Information
Management
Research
Information
Management
Medicinal
Chemistry
Medicinal
Chemistry
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
Chemistry
Process R&D
Chemistry
Process R&D
Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Molecular Biology
(Target Finding)
Our work in the lab begins with the target. This may be a particular protein which, when its activity is modulated, can normalize a biological process in the body – with beneficial effects for patients. To see whether we can affect the protein’s activity, we first need to be able to measure it.
We produce, or “express”, the target in large quantities and measure its natural activity in assays. The assay needs to be sensitive, accurate, and highly reliable.
Plus, in order to perform hundreds of thousands of measurements, it needs to be automated, using robotic equipment.
Biochemistry
(High Throughput Screening)
But there are two sides to the discovery process – a target and a compound.
Compounds are substances which, we hope, will modify the activity of a target involved in a pathological process and which can be developed into a drug
for patients.
At Idorsia, we maintain a library consisting of hundreds of thousands of different compounds. To begin our hunt for drugs, we test the entire library on the target,
in the hope that one of these compounds will modify the activity of the protein.
This process is called high-throughput screening; if it’s a simple assay, we can test the whole library within a matter of weeks, with the goal of identifying compounds which exhibit activity on the target.
Structural Biology and
Molecular Modeling
Target and compound needs to fit together like a lock and a key. Our experts in structural biology and molecular modeling analyze these compounds – using techniques and tools such as computer-aided drug design – to aid
the optimization process by looking
at 3D shapes, interactions, and properties of the molecules.
Research Information Management
Throughout the drug discovery process, huge amounts of data are generated, and powerful IT tools are required to extract the knowledge we need. To really understand the data, we visualize it and study the relationship between chemical structures and biological properties.
Medicinal chemistry involves the use of chemistry’s tools to design molecules that are potential drugs. Based on the knowledge gained from literature, high-throughput screening results, initial studies, and molecular modeling, we form a hypothesis for analysis. We then enter drug design with the goal of finding the ideal compound – which must not only be potent but have
the right properties such as solubility, stability, bioavailability and selectivity.
The molecules we design are synthesized and then sent back to our biologists or pharmacologists for testing in an iterative process. With each cycle, the compound is further optimized to ultimately deliver a potent, effective and safe drug for development.
Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
At this point, we also study how the drug substance moves through the body. This is vital to understand key factors such as the duration of the treatment effect and intensity, which helps determine the appropriate dose.
Chemistry Process R&D
Small-scale testing for initial assays requires only milligram quantities; for subsequent testing, however, much more material is needed. This is where our process research teams come into the picture. They are responsible for scaling up from milligram to gram quantities, and finally to the kilogram batch which is used for preclinical testing.
It’s no good having a potent compound which is destroyed by the body before it has a chance to do its job. Our chemical and drug product specialists take the optimized compound and develop the most robust, safe, and cost-efficient formulation to deliver it to the patient.
Once reproducible processes have been elaborated to produce large quantities of the active compound and the formulated drug product, our technical project teams manage the production of the drug with partner companies. They secure drug supplies for clinical development and, when appropriate, for commercial launch and beyond.
Pharmacology
Once we have identified a target with good potency and a reasonable distribution profile, we test them in disease models which reproduce most of the clinical manifestations of the disease. These experiments allow us to evaluate how our compounds perform in disease models and possibly benchmark their activity against that of reference compounds. In the disease models,
we not only seek to improve the efficacy of our compounds, but also investigate
any possible side effects in dedicated safety studies.
Our drug discovery process
Targets
Compound Library
Hits
Lead Structure
Improved Leads
Preclinical Development
Drug Development
Clinical Development
Registration
Launch
Molecular Biology
(Target Finding)
Biochemistry (High Throughput Screening)
Structural Biology and Molecular Modeling
Research
Information
Management
Medicinal
Chemistry
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
Chemistry
Process R&D
Pharmacology
Our work in the lab begins with the target. This may be a particular protein which, when its activity is modulated, can normalize a biological process in
the body – with beneficial effects for patients. To see whether we can affect the protein’s activity, we first need to be able to measure it.
We produce, or “express”, the target in large quantities and measure its natural activity in assays. The assay needs to be sensitive, accurate and highly reliable. Plus, in order to perform hundreds of thousands of measurements, it needs to be automated, using robotic equipment.
Molecular Biology
(Target Finding)
But there are two sides to the discovery process –
a target and a compound.
Compounds are substances which, we hope,
will modify the activity of a target involved in
a pathological process and which can be developed into a drug for patients.
At Idorsia, we maintain a library consisting of hundreds of thousands of different compounds. To begin our hunt for drugs, we test the entire library on the target, in the hope that one of these compounds will modify the activity of the protein. This process is called high-throughput screening; if it’s a simple assay, we can test the whole library within a matter of weeks, with the goal of identifying compounds which exhibit activity on the target.
Biochemistry (High Throughput Screening)
Structural Biology and
Molecular Modeling
Target and compound needs to fit together like
a lock and a key. Our experts in structural biology and molecular modeling analyze these compounds – using techniques and tools such as computer-aided drug design – to aid the optimization process by looking at 3D shapes, interactions,
and properties of the molecules.
Research Information Management
Throughout the drug discovery process, huge amounts of data are generated, and powerful IT tools are required to extract the knowledge we need. To really understand the data, we visualize it and study the relationship between chemical structures and biological properties.
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal chemistry involves the use of chemistry’s tools to design molecules that are potential drugs. Based on the knowledge gained from literature,
high-throughput screening results, initial studies,
and molecular modeling, we form a hypothesis for analysis. We then enter drug design with the goal
of finding the ideal compound – which must not only be potent but have the right properties such as solubility, stability, bioavailability and selectivity.
The molecules we design are synthesized and then sent back to our biologists or pharmacologists for testing in an iterative process. With each cycle,
the compound is further optimized to ultimately deliver a potent, effective and safe drug
for development.
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
At this point, we also study how the drug substance moves through the body. This is vital to understand key factors such as the duration of the treatment effect and intensity, which helps determine the appropriate dose.
Chemistry Process R&D
Small-scale testing for initial assays requires only milligram quantities; for subsequent testing, however, much more material is needed. This is where our process research teams come into the picture. They are responsible for scaling up from milligram to gram quantities, and finally to the kilogram batch which is used for preclinical testing.
It’s no good having a potent compound which is destroyed by the body before it has a chance to do its job. Our chemical and drug product specialists take a compound which has been the optimized by the chemists compound and develop the most robust, safe, and cost-efficient processes for the drug substance, the formulation, and packaging materials to deliver it to the patient.
Once reproducible processes have been elaborated to produce large quantities of the active compound and the formulated drug product, our technical project teams manage the production of the drug with partner companies. They secure drug supplies for clinical development and, when appropriate, for commercial launch and beyond.
Pharmacology
Once we have identified a target with good potency and a reasonable distribution profile in animals, we test them in animal models which reproduce most of the clinical manifestations of the disease. These experiments allow us to evaluate how our compounds perform in disease models and possibly benchmark their activity against that of reference compounds. In the disease models, we not only seek to improve the efficacy of our compounds, but also investigate any possible side effects in dedicated safety studies.
Our drug discovery process