Using protein-ligand docking to assess the chemical tractability of inhibiting a protein target.

Assessing the difficulty of inhibiting a specific protein by a small molecule can be highly valuable in risk-assessment and prioritization of a new target. In particular, when the disease linkage for a number of targets is broadly similar, being able to identify the most tractable can have a significant impact on informing target selection. With an increasing focus against new and novel protein classes, being able to assess the most likely targets to yield lead-like chemical start points can guide the selection and the lead-generation strategy implemented. This study exploits protein-ligand docking studies on published protein x-ray crystal structures to provide guidance on the feasibility of identifying small molecule inhibitors against a range of targets.