High-throughput virtual screening for drug discovery in parallel

With the influx of targets generated by genomics and proteomics initiatives, a new drug discovery paradigm is emerging. Many companies are setting up target family platforms that tackle multiple targets and therapeutic areas simultaneously. Virtual screening (VS) techniques are a fundamental component of such platforms for in silico filtering of compound collections and prioritization of chemistry and screening efforts. At the heart of these, structure-based docking and scoring methods are especially effective in identifying bioactive molecules if the structure of a target is available. As structural genomics maps the structural space of the proteome, these techniques are expected to become commonplace. In light of this, an overview of the latest developments in VS methodology is given here. In particular, emphasis is placed on those techniques adaptable to high-throughput VS in parallel drug discovery platforms. The first examples of docking across multiple targets have already appeared in the literature and will be reviewed here.