Lead Identification

Before embarking on a translational medicine itinerary, it is important to have a pre-selected destination. Lead identification typically occurs in the exploratory phase of the development of a therapeutic strategy. Therapeutic strategies, in our view, can include pharmaceuticals, technologies or even new protocols and are not necessarily limited to drug intervention.

In this beginning phase of research, the scientist or scientific team examines a pathogenic mechanism behind a disease, which can be the target of intervention. A lead is a potential therapeutic strategy capable of interacting with the target in a desired manner and which will be pursued in subsequent studies.

There are many confounding factors in lead identification and validation. For example, disease models might not be truly representative. Leads might not work homogeneously across a species in terms of toxicity, metabolism and interaction with its pathological targets. In addition, lead compounds could interact with more than just the target for which it was selected. These issues are just some of the ones that arise in lead identification.