Actelion integrates all the necessary technologies to allow for drug discovery and development.

This process consists of linking different technologies from different scientific disciplines.

Molecular biology provides new biological targets for which low molecular weight compounds are sought to interfere with their biological function.

This is achieved with high-throughput screening performed in biochemistry which tries to identify single compounds from a library of thousands of synthetic compounds that may serve as templates for medicinal chemistry to create potent and selective drug candidates.

This process is achieved by structure-activity relationship and guided by molecular modeling based on 3-D protein structures identified in crystallography.

The chemical optimization is an iterative process between chemistry and biology and guided to a great extent by pharmacokinetics and metabolism that describes the behavior of a compound in the body.

Process research then aims at safe and robust ways to produce the first quantities for preclinical testing and to deliver optimized protocols for the production of the first batches for clinical studies.

Selected potent compounds are profiled in pharmacology where the biological activities are evaluated in isolated organs and tissues or studied in different patho-physiological animal models.

In the perspective of administration in humans, preformulation and early formulation development are performed.

Finally all the processes are controlled by our powerful in-house research informatics.