NIH Molecular Libraries Initiative

Abstract

The Molecular Libraries Initiative (MLI) of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research is a bold set of programs to facilitate the use of small molecules in the public sector and expand the reach of small-molecule technologies to define gene, cell, and organism function in health and disease. The initiative described in this Policy Forum has three components: the Molecular Libraries Screening Centers Network; cheminformatics initiatives including a new public compound database (PubChem); and technology development initiatives in chemical diversity, cheminformatics, assay development, screening instrumentation, and predictive ADMET. All research tools and results will be made publicly available without encumbrance. The small-molecule tools and technologies produced by the MLI will accelerate gene function determination, target validation, and downstream drug development.