Editing Drug design (section)

====Phenotypic drug discovery====

[[Classical pharmacology|Phenotypic drug discovery]] is a traditional drug discovery method, also known as forward pharmacology or classical pharmacology. It uses the process of phenotypic screening on collections of synthetic small molecules, natural products, or extracts within chemical libraries to pinpoint substances exhibiting beneficial therapeutic effects. This method is to first discover the in vivo or in vitro functional activity of drugs (such as extract drugs or natural products), and then perform target identification. Phenotypic discovery uses a practical and target-independent approach to generate initial leads, aiming to discover pharmacologically active compounds and therapeutics that operate through novel drug mechanisms.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Swinney DC, Lee JA | title = Recent advances in phenotypic drug discovery | journal = F1000Research | volume = 9 | pages = F1000 Faculty Rev–944 | date = 2020 | pmid = 32850117 | pmc = 7431967 | doi = 10.12688/f1000research.25813.1 | doi-access = free }}</ref> This method allows the exploration of disease phenotypes to find potential treatments for conditions with unknown, complex, or multifactorial origins, where the understanding of molecular targets is insufficient for effective intervention.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Moffat JG, Vincent F, Lee JA, Eder J, Prunotto M | title = Opportunities and challenges in phenotypic drug discovery: an industry perspective | journal = Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery | volume = 16 | issue = 8 | pages = 531–543 | date = August 2017 | pmid = 28685762 | doi = 10.1038/nrd.2017.111 | s2cid = 6180139 | doi-access = free }}</ref>