In Silico Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Pharmacokinetics (ADME-PK): Utility and Best Practices. An Industry Perspective from the International Consortium for Innovation through Quality in Pharmaceutical Development

In silico tools to investigate absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and pharmacokinetics (ADME-PK) properties of new chemical entities are an integral part of the current industrial drug discovery paradigm. While many companies are active in the field, scientists engaged in this area do not necessarily share the same background and have limited resources when seeking guidance on how to initiate and maintain an in silico ADME-PK infrastructure in an industrial setting. This work summarizes the views of a group of industrial in silico and experimental ADME scientists, participating in the In Silico ADME Working Group, a subgroup of the International Consortium for Innovation through Quality in Pharmaceutical Development (IQ) Drug Metabolism Leadership Group. This overview on the benefits, caveats, and impact of in silico ADME-PK should serve as a resource for medicinal chemists, computational chemists, and DMPK scientists working in drug design to increase their knowledge in the area.