15^th World Conference on Pharmaceutical Chemistry November 23-24, 2020 London, UK

Drug discovery is a process which is intended to identify a small synthetic molecule or a large biomolecule for comprehensive evaluation as a potential drug candidate. Broadly, the modern drug discovery process includes identification of disease to be treated and its unmet medical need, selection of a druggable molecular target and its validation, in vitro assay development followed by high throughput screening of compound libraries against the target to identify hits, and hit optimization to generate lead compounds that exhibit adequate potency and selectivity towards the biological target in vitro and which demonstrate efficacy in animal models of disease. Subsequently, the lead compounds are further optimized to improve their efficacy and pharmacokinetics before they advance towards drug development.

Drug development process can be segregated into preclinical and clinical development stages. In preclinical development, toxicological and safety pharmacology studies of the candidate are conducted in order to establish the maximum safe concentrations in animals and determine the adverse effect potential of the drug-in-development. Additionally, studies are conducted to finalize cost-effective processes required for manufacturing the candidate drug as well as deciding on its best formulation. If the candidate exhibits sufficient efficacy and safety in preclinical evaluation, permission is sought from drug regulatory agencies to initiate its clinical development wherein the safety and efficacy of the drug candidate is assessed in pilot and pivotal studies.

Design of a novel drug is one of the biggest challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry. The use of computers accelerates the process of drug design which is a time intensive process, and also reduces the cost of whole process. Computational methods are used in various forms of drug discovery like QSAR, virtual screening and structure-based drug designing methods. Among these, structure based drug design is gaining importance due to rapid growth in structural data (available in RCSB & Nucleic acid Data Bank). This structural data can be used in molecular modeling to design lead molecules based on the structural features of the active site.

Clinical research is the study of health and illness in people. It is the way we learn how to prevent, diagnose and treat illness. Clinical research describes many different elements of scientific investigation. Simply put, it involves human participants and helps translate basic research (done in labs) into new treatments and information to benefit patients. Clinical trials as well as research in epidemiology, physiology and pathophysiology, health services, education, outcomes and mental health can all fall under the clinical research umbrella.

A review of the use of natural products as starting points in the search for new pharmaceuticals, covering the broad areas of Drugs affecting the central nervous system, Neuromuscular blocking drugs, Anticancer drugs, Marine sources, Antibiotics, Cardiovascular drugs, Antiasthma drugs, Anti-diabetic drugs and Antiparasitic drugs. The review covers more than 100 years of development, from “old” drugs, such as morphine and quinine, to very recent discoveries, such as conotoxin and galantamine, and includes a discussion of the attributes of natural products as leads in the drug discovery process. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 41 drugs derived from natural products were launched on the market by major pharmaceutical companies. In the chosen examples, the process of drug development is traced from the discovery of the activity of the natural compound, through chemical modification and biological evaluation, to either success or failure as a clinical product, highlighting the very different pathways to innovation that occur in each product.

Pharmaceutical biotechnology is a relatively new and growing field in which the principles of biotechnology are applied to the development of drugs. A majority of therapeutic drugs in the current market are bioformulations, such as antibodies, nucleic acid products and vaccines. Such bioformulations are developed through several stages that include: understanding the principles underlying health and disease; the fundamental molecular mechanisms governing the function of related biomolecules; synthesis and purification of the molecules; determining the product shelf life, stability, toxicity and immunogenicity; drug delivery systems; patenting; and clinical trials.

Green chemistry expresses an area of research developing from scientific discoveries about pollution awareness and it utilizes a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in all steps of particular synthesis or process. Chemists and medicinal scientists can greatly reduce the risk to human health and the environment by following all the valuable principles of green chemistry. The most simple and direct way to apply green chemistry in pharmaceuticals is to utilize eco-friendly, non-hazardous, reproducible and efficient solvents and catalysts in synthesis of drug molecules, drug intermediates and in researches involving synthetic chemistry. Microwave synthesis is also an important tool of green chemistry by being an energy efficient process.

Computational chemistry within the pharmaceutical industry has grown into a field that proactively contributes too many aspects of drug design, including target selection and lead identification and optimization. While methodological advancements have been key to this development, organizational developments have been crucial to our success as well. In particular, the interaction between computational and medicinal chemistry and the integration of computational chemistry into the entire drug discovery process have been invaluable.

Organic chemistry is one of the branches of chemistry that majorly deals with the study of different molecular structures, compositions, properties and synthesis of different compounds. These compounds under study majorly contain hydrocarbons, carbon and their derivatives. The combination of these compounds in an effort to come up with different medicinal ingredients can be put under synthetic organic chemistry procedures.

The science of pharmaceuticals is a field with disciplines that work together. This discipline usually works together through synthetic organic chemistry to bring out pharmaceutical drug compounds with intense effects. Synthetic organic chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry are both involved in the manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs.

Inorganic chemistry is the study of all the elements and their compounds except carbon and its compounds. Inorganic chemistry describes the characteristics of substances such as non-living matter and minerals which are found in the earth except the class of organic compounds. Branches of inorganic chemistry include coordination chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, organometallic compounds and synthetic inorganic chemistry. The distinction between the organic and inorganic are not absolute, and there is much overlap, especially in the organometallic chemistry, which has applications in every aspect of the pharmacy, chemical industry–including catalysis in drug synthesis, pigments, surfactants and agriculture. In short, Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with inorganic compounds. In other words, it is the chemistry of compounds that do not contain hydrocarbon radicals.

New advances in synthetic methodologies that allow rapid access to a wide variety of functionalized heterocyclic compounds are of critical importance to the medicinal chemist as it provides the ability to expand the available drug-like chemical space and drive more efficient delivery of drug discovery programs. Furthermore, the development of robust synthetic routes that can readily generate bulk quantities of a desired compound help to accelerate the drug development process. While established synthetic methodologies are commonly utilized during the course of a drug discovery program, the development of innovative heterocyclic syntheses that allow for different bond forming strategies are having a significant impact in the pharmaceutical industry. This review will focus on recent applications of new methodologies in C-H activation, photoredox chemistry, borrowing hydrogen catalysis, multicomponent reactions, regio- and stereoselective syntheses, as well as other new, innovative general syntheses for the formation and functionalization of heterocycles that have helped drive project delivery.

Pharmaceutical formulation is the process of combining various chemical substances with the active drug to form a final medicinal product, which is called a drug mixture or drug formulation. A drug formulation can be given to the patient in various forms like solid, semisolid or liquid.  The type of the formulation given depends upon the patient’s age, sex, and health condition and is specific for particular routes of administration.

Pharmaceutical analysis is a branch of practical chemistry that involves a series of process for identification, determination, quantification and purification of a substance, separation of the components of a solution or mixture, or determination of structure of chemical compounds. The substance may be a single compound or a mixture of compounds and it may be in any of the dosage form. The substance used as pharmaceuticals are animals, plants, microorganisms, minerals and various synthetic products.

Drug delivery systems are engineered technologies for the targeted delivery and/or controlled release of therapeutic agents. Drugs have long been used to improve health and extend lives. The practice of drug delivery has changed dramatically in the past few decades and even greater changes are anticipated in the near future. Biomedical engineers have contributed substantially to our understanding of the physiological barriers to efficient drug delivery, such as transport in the circulatory system and drug movement through cells and tissues; they have also contributed to the development several new modes of drug delivery that have entered clinical practice.

Pharmacology is the study of how a drug affects a biological system and how the body responds to the drug. The discipline encompasses the sources, chemical properties, biological effects and therapeutic uses of drugs. These effects can be therapeutic or toxic, depending on many factors. Pharmacologists are often interested in therapeutics, which focuses on the effects of drugs and other chemical agents that minimize disease, or toxicology, which involves the study of adverse, or toxic, effects of drugs and other chemical agents. Toxicology can refer to both drugs used in the treatment of disease and with chemicals that may be present in household, environmental, or industrial hazards.

Toxicology is a field of science that helps us understand the harmful effects that chemicals, substances, or situations, can have on people, animals, and the environment. Some refer to toxicology as the “Science of Safety” because as a field it has evolved from a science focused on studying poisons and adverse effects of chemical exposures, to a science devoted to studying safety. Toxicology uses the power of science to predict what, and how chemicals may cause harm and then shares that information to protect public health.