Tag: Lead optimization

Developing a new drug is a lengthy and challenging process, with statistics indicating that only about 1 out of 5,000 compounds entering the preclinical phase eventually becomes an approved drug. Understanding **what are the steps of drug design** is crucial for appreciating the immense scientific and financial investment required to bring new medicines to market.

Despite advances in research, the overall probability of success for new molecular entities is only about 12%. Rational drug design, a systematic and knowledge-based approach, directly addresses this challenge by meticulously defining what are the four steps in rational drug design to increase efficiency and success rates in creating new medications.

With a single drug discovery program costing hundreds of millions to billions of dollars and taking over a decade to complete, modern pharmacology has moved beyond trial-and-error. This shift has redefined **what is the primary goal of drug design**, which now focuses on the rational, data-driven creation of molecules that are highly effective, selective, and safe.