The process of designing a pharmaceutical product using a computer (also known as computational drug discovery) can be an effective tool in increasing the probability of and reducing the time period for developing new drugs. Especially relevant in the fight against the pandemic, the patent claims a method that can be used to design new drugs. In particular, it discusses methods for identifying the binding site of a target molecule. Target molecules can be any proteins that have a functional site (such as those on the surface of the coronavirus) that can attach to human body cells and adversely affect them. It is thus important to design a “ligand” (a substance that can stably bind to these proteins), and block them, thus preventing them from attacking the body cells.
Title – Method and device for searching binding site of target molecule
Patent Holder – Fujitsu Ltd Patent ID – 20190179999