Medicinal Chemistry

Once a target has been identified, Centre for Drug Research and Development’s Medicinal Chemistry Division undertakes the optimization of lead compounds derived from rational design and screening processes. Central to the effort is the application of modern synthetic methods and principles to design and synthesize novel compounds for biological and toxicological evaluation. The goal is to simultaneously improve efficacy, ADME, and toxicology results. Medicinal Chemistry actively collaborates with the other divisions to achieve this goal.

To facilitate the work, the Medicinal Chemistry Division has state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and expertise in chemical synthesis. Capabilities include high-field multidimensional multinuclear NMR, automated robotic synthesis, microwave synthesis, computer-aided drug design, asymmetric synthesis and analysis, large-scale synthesis, evaporation, and purification.

Capabilities and Resources

The Medicinal Chemistry Division provides library and natural-product synthesis, medicinal chemistry, lead optimization, process development, and scale-up design services.

DesignSynthesisScale-Up
  • Suggest druglike molecules
  • Synthetic planning
  • Rational drug design
  • Library synthesis
  • Targeted structure-activity relationships
  • Lead optimization
  • "One-time" synthesis
  • Synthetic refinement
  • Scale-up and analysis
  • Morphology control
  • Tech transfer package
EquipmentEquipmentEquipment
  • Experienced chemists
  • NMR scientist
  • NMR (600 and 400 MHz)
  • Automated synthesis
  • Equipped med-chem laboratory
  • Glass reactors/large-scale equipment
  • DSC/in-process HPLC

Equipment Highlights

20L, glass-jacketed reactor at SFU site for scale-up work

Chemspeed ASW2000 automated synthetic workstation for parallel synthesis

Computer-aided ligand-binding analysis of X-ray structure

Staff

Robert Young, Ph.D. — Division Head

SFU Professor of Chemistry and Merck-Frosst BC Leadership Chair. Dr. Young has thirty years’ experience as a pharmaceutical chemist. His achievements include the discovery and development of Singulair®. Full bio

Peter Chua, Ph.D. — Deputy Head

Dr. Chua possesses medicinal chemistry experience from Merck (San Diego) and Cylene pharmaceuticals and process-chemistry experience from Pfizer (Groton, Connecticut). Full bio.