ADME is the acronym given to a specific battery of tests necessary to evaluate the drug-candidate molecule. A compound cannot be a drug, no matter how active nor how specific its action, unless it is also taken appropriately into the body (Absortion), distributed to the right parts of the body (Distribution), metabolized in a way that does not instantly remove its activity (Metabolism), and eliminated in a suitable manner (Elimination). Many companies, as BIOALVO, have adopted the strategy of including the ADME testing early in the drug discovery process, in order to facilitate earlier data-driven decisions to discontinue the development of drug candidates before entry into more costly later phases of clinical development, and to deliver safer lead compounds into development.

Drug development is a research process following drug discovery where the selected drug-candidate is tested in animal models in order to prepare it as a drug that can proceed for clinical trials in humans and finally release it to the pharmaceutical market.

Drug discovery is a research process that involves the identification, synthesis, and screening of drug-candidate molecules on appropriate assays for therapeutic efficacy. The assays for therapeutic efficacy are designed based on the drug-target considered to be most promising for the treatment of a disease. Usually, several compounds with potential therapeutic effect on the drug-target are identified during drug-discovery. In order to choose the best candidate to follow for drug development, several ADME/Tox assays, usually in vitro, are performed.

A drug-target is a given biological molecule that is believed to be, at least in part, responsible for a disease. Its modulation presents a good promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of the disease. Drugs are developed to act against this molecule.

HTS stands for High Throughput Screening. Using robotics, data processing and control software, liquid handling devices, and sensitive detectors, HTS allows the fast and reproducible testing of millions of biochemical, genetic or pharmacological tests. It allows the rapid identification of molecules with potential therapeutic effect over a specific drug-target. The results of these experiments provide starting points for drug design and for understanding the interaction or role of a particular biochemical process in biology.

Is a chemical compound produced as an end product of secondary metabolism of a living organism found in nature that has a pharmacological or biological activity for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design. Often, is a unique compound for particular organisms or classes of organism.

Etymologically, the word neurodegeneration is composed of the prefix “neuro-“, which designates nerve cells, i.e. neurons. The suffix “-degeneration” refers to a process of losing structure or function, in the context of tissues or organs. Thus, neurodegeneration corresponds to any pathological condition where a progressive loss of structure, function or death of neurons occurs. Several neurodegenerative diseases exist, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy (FAP). Some of these neurological disorders arise from yet unknown reasons and progress in a relentless manner.