Chemical space is big. Really big
You think it’s a long way to the back of your screening libraries? That’s peanuts to chemical space, says Derek Lowe
I want to talk about chemical space – the universe of possible compounds – and I find that there is absolutely no way to do that without quoting Douglas Adams at the first opportunity. In The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, Adams famously asserted, without fear of contradiction, that ‘Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-boggling big it is.’ Drop the word ‘chemical’ in there, and the same description applies.