Drug discovery is a costly and time-consuming process, with very few novel molecular entities approved for clinical use today. With the advancement of computational chemistry, integrated X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy technology, more and more potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of human diseases are discovered. Furthermore, multiple medicinal chemistry approaches have been developed in support of early drug discovery. However, there is still much can be done in the early phase of drug discovery to improve the chances of success of a drug candidate. This paper reviews the discovery and evaluation of new chemical entities in the early stages of drug development.
