Small Molecule Drug Discovery
Target Identification and Validation
Successful drug development begins with selecting the right biological target. IQVIA Laboratories help biopharma organizations assess, prioritize, and validate novel targets using advanced cellular models, functional genomics, bioinformatics, and translational research approaches. We generate actionable insights that support informed decision-making earlier in the discovery process.
Hit Identification
Setting the right hit identification strategy early is critical to finding high-quality hit matter, which can in turn influence the overall success of your drug discovery project. Our experts can help guide you from initial concept, through selecting the right hit identification method, to assay design and development, to design and implementation of an appropriate screening cascade. We have the technology and expertise to handle any target or disease phenotype and our integrated hit identification capabilities are designed to generate robust, actionable data that supports confident decision making.
Hit to Lead
IQVIA’s hit to lead capabilities are designed to accelerate this critical phase of drug discovery by combining world-class biology, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, AI-enabled molecular design and prediction, accelerated DMTA, CADD, DMPK, early safety and translational expertise within a fully integrated platform.
With decades of experience supporting discovery programs across a wide range of therapeutic areas, IQVIA helps partners transform promising hits into high-quality lead series with optimized profiles which are aligned with successful transition into lead optimisation and beyond. By seamlessly integrating discovery disciplines and providing flexible partnership models, IQVIA reduces complexity, minimizes development risk, and enables faster, data-driven decision making. Whether advancing an emerging target or optimizing a validated chemical series, our hit to lead platform delivers the scientific insight, operational efficiency, and strategic guidance needed to move programs confidently toward candidate selection and beyond.
By seamlessly integrating discovery disciplines and providing flexible partnership models, IQVIA reduces complexity, minimizes development risk, and enables faster, data-driven decision making. Whether advancing an emerging target or optimizing a validated chemical series, our hit to lead platform delivers the scientific insight, operational efficiency, and strategic guidance needed to move programs confidently toward candidate selection and beyond.
Lead Optimization
Lead optimization is the critical stage where promising compounds are transformed into viable drug candidates. Achieving success requires careful optimization of many properties, including potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and developability, without compromising timelines. IQVIA’s lead optimization capabilities are designed to help you navigate this complex stage with confidence, combining deep scientific expertise, with a modern, integrated approach to drug discovery, enabling rapid and informed progression to a candidate.
Our multidisciplinary teams work seamlessly to refine lead series, rapidly addressing key optimization challenges, guided by the target product profile and a clear focus on translational success. By addressing human-relevant translational biology, biomarker strategy, safety risks, pharmacokinetic profiling, human dose prediction, pharmaceutical developability and competitive differentiation early, we deliver high-quality development candidates and increase the likelihood of clinical and commercial success.
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