Over the last several decades the roles filled by chemists and the chemical technologies used in small molecule drug discovery have changed dramatically. The functions that chemists fill in R&D efforts have become more diverse, complex and specialized, all at the same time. However, at the end of the day an effective small molecule drug is a chemical with a very specialized set of properties. Those imbue it with the dual ability to be effective as a treatment and safe, when administered to people. Using examples from 30+ years of Drug Discovery this talk will illustrate how from a starting point at which time synthetic organic chemistry was the “core” chemical science it is now but one part of a complex amalgam. Currently, the medicinal chemist needs to be conversant in multiple technologies and is more of a conductor/composer who designs and develops a drug via the integration of input from synthetic, analytical, computational, structural biological, physical, and informatics chemists.

Roles of chemists and chemical technology in a changing drug discovery environment

254th National Meeting (2017)

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