Quantifying biogenic bias in screening libraries

Abstract

In lead discovery, libraries of 106 molecules are screened for biological activity. Given the over 1060 drug-like molecules thought possible, such screens might never succeed. The fact that they do, even occasionally, implies a biased selection of library molecules. We have developed a method to quantify the bias in screening libraries toward biogenic molecules. With this approach, we consider what is missing from screening libraries and how they can be optimized.