Rational Drug Design

Rational drug design is a drug discovery process that involves applying computational models and methods to design new therapeutic agents. This approach uses existing data and research on the structure of a target molecule (e.g. a receptor, enzyme, or other drug target) to create new molecules that can selectively interact with and modulate the activity of the target. It is an important part of modern drug discovery because it allows us to rapidly identify potential drug candidates and to focus on the most promising ones. Rational drug design is also used to customize existing drugs for new uses and to reduce side effects. Furthermore, it has the potential to yield drugs that are more effective, have fewer side effects and are more cost effective than those discovered through traditional approaches.