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Puzzling through fragment-based drug design

Fragment-based drug design capitalizes on the modular binding of low-molecular-weight, low-affinity ligands. However, the deconstruction of lead-like inhibitors into putative fragments reveals the surprising complexity of dealing with low-affinity leads, thereby challenging oversimplification of these leads and highlighting the richness of their chemical diversity and molecular recognition.

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Figure 1: Modular and emergent binding modes.

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Hajduk, P. Puzzling through fragment-based drug design. Nat Chem Biol 2, 658–659 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio1206-658

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