AstraZeneca has signed an agreement to license software developer Optibrium's StarDrop software. StarDrop and the ADME-QSAR and Auto-Modeller modules will be deployed globally to AstraZeneca's researchers.

StarDrop is a software suite that helps to deliver balanced, effective drugs. By highlighting diverse, high-quality compounds, StarDrop reduces the time it takes to find leads and then transform them into candidate drugs that will have a high probability of success downstream. StarDrop evaluates complex data, which often is uncertain because of experimental variability or predictive error. In scoring this data, the software guides and validates the direction of research projects and which compounds are prioritized. Its interactive tools then enable researchers to explore ways to further improve their chemistries.

StarDrop's ADME QSAR plug-in module enables the prediction of a broad range of ADME and physicochemical properties using a suite of QSAR models. The Auto-Modeller module gives users access to the tools needed to produce validated, predictive models of their own chemistry and data.

"StarDrop's unique approach to multi-parameter optimisation and intuitive user interface complement our in-house efforts in this area, and enable our interdisciplinary design teams to target compounds with a balance of properties required for their project objectives,” said Dr. Nicholas Tomkinson, AstraZeneca Informatics.

"Drug metabolism, together with the prediction of human kinetics and dose, is a multi-objective optimization problem,” said Dr. Patrick Barton, AstraZeneca DMPK. “We seek a compromise between potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetic and toxicological profiles to discover a safe and efficacious drug. Currently, we undertake an empirical approach to optimization, which relies on experience and often leads to inconsistent decision-making. The introduction of StarDrop will improve objective decision making and decrease the timelines of our projects."