Lipophilicity in drug discovery

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: The role of lipophilicity in determining the overall quality of candidate drug molecules is of paramount importance. Recent developments suggest that, as well as determining pre-clinical ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicology) properties, compounds of optimal lipophilicity might have increased chances of success in development. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW: The review covers aspects of methods of prediction of lipophilicity in frequent use and describes the most relevant literature analyses linking individual ADMET parameters and more composite measures of overall compound 'quality' with lipophilicity. WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN: The aim is to provide an…