Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41620434›Full record

ReviewNature communications2026

Developments and challenges in hit progression within fragment-based drug discovery.

Harold Grosjean, Philip C Biggin

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Early-stage drug discovery in a new-generation ultrahigh-throughput mass spectrometry platform.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Frontiers in bioinformatics · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Harold GrosjeanStructural Bioinformatics and Computational Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK. harold@foundersfunders.tech.ORCID 0000-0002-1095-5578
Philip C BigginStructural Bioinformatics and Computational Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK. philip.biggin@bioch.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0001-5100-8836

Funding

Wellcome Trust (Wellcome) COL0108
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fragment-based Drug Discovery (FBDD) is a proven methodology for the discovery of new therapeutics. After the identification of small molecular fragments, subsequent steps are guided by the "Design, Make, Test" (DMT) cycle. During the "Design" phase, chemical modifications are proposed that generate Structure-Activity Relationship information, improve interaction profiles and physicochemical properties. In the "Make" phase, designs are synthesised into viable compounds, with an emphasis on feasibility, scalability and the incorporation of novel chemistries enabling broad chemical space sampling. Finally, the "Test" phase evaluates these compounds through a series of assays, identifying binders and enabling Structure-Activity Relationship models that guide subsequent designs. Within DMT cycles, fragment progression - the process of converting initial hits into more potent follow-up lead compounds - is an essential component, but has many challenges associated with it. Here, we review such challenges along with recent developments designed to mitigate them.

Indexed as

Drug DiscoverySmall Molecule LibrariesDrug DesignHumansStructure-Activity RelationshipSmall Molecule Libraries

Identifiers

PMID41620434
PMCPMC12963627

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.