Ri.MED Foundation researchers are involved in drug discovery projects to identify new biologically active molecules. Studying biomolecular pathways integrated with genomics, proteomics, metabolic and secretomics data, our researchers were able to accomplish the functional validation of new therapeutic targets for diseases in therapeutic areas of interest, such as oncology and aging-associated diseases.

Some of these projects are now in their screening phase for the discovery of new hit compounds. This process starts with the study of target proteins through biophysical and computational chemistry approaches, and developing biophysical, biochemical or cellular screening assays.

Thanks to the integrated virtual screening platform, hundreds of molecules of synthetic and natural origin were selected using structure-based (docking) and ligand-based (pharmacophore) techniques. Last year saw the creation of a molecular database that today consists of around 2,000 molecules. Some of these have been biologically tested. The active molecules, known as singletons, will be validated through QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) studies.

In the next phase, the most promising hit series in terms of druggability will be selected and the hit-to-lead optimization phase will be entered. The medium-term goal is to select the lead molecule to be subjected to preclinical testing, then to evaluate the efficacy through in vivo studies integrated with molecular imaging, and characterize the pharmacokinetic and toxicological profile suitable for clinical experimentation on patients.