Alfred Ajami

I have managed pharmaceutical and biomedical research enterprises for over forty years, creating patented innovations in chemical biology. My research and expertise are in the fields of medicinal chemistry and all aspects of pre-clinical drug development, with a heavy emphasis on phenotypic studies and physiologically based PK/PD. I was trained both as a biologist and a chemist. In 2013, I left the executive rat race in the Kendall Square pharma Mecca (Cambridge, MA). Now, when not consulting to early stage companies or running portfolio reviews and due diligence, I spend my time analyzing and commenting on trends.

Contributing Author in
AI & Digital Tools & Methods Novel Therapeutics

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Latest articles from Alfred

A Brief Guide To Assay Technology For Efficient Drug Discovery -- Part 1

Effective drug discovery begins with the right assay, but the definition of "right" will shift as technology advances. More often than not, "right" is the product of tribal knowledge, namely the traditions of one's close peer group, study lineage and …

Three Insights For Immuno-oncology Drug Discovery

Immunotherapies are hot property. Immuno-oncology is the crown jewel. But the road to riches, and more importantly cancer cures, is now crowded and full of potholes. Drug hunters need to look ahead, beyond the discovery process itself, to the reality …

The Homunculus Metaphor Revisited In Drug Discovery: Body-on-a-Chip

The16th century alchemical and 19th century science fiction revival of a miniature human being in a test tube is undergoing a radical upgrade. Microfluidics, complex organoid cultures, and nanodetection of phenotypic and genomic outputs are turning the metaphor into a …

36 Web Resources For Target Hunting In Drug Discovery

Choosing the right biological target or a combination of targets is a fundamental task for any successful drug discovery project. All the subsequent efforts -- be it a small molecule hit identification, lead optimization, pharmacokinetic studies, or a clinical trial -- will …

How Many Drug Targets Are There? A Status Update Review

The question is often raised, but the answer remains to be uncovered because the definition of drug "target" continues to evolve. Historical conceptualization is focused on catalytic sites, substrate binding sites, or epigenetic modification sites. Current understanding that protein-protein interactions …

How CRISPR Transforms Modern Drug Discovery

Consensus seems universal and the news about it flows literally by the minute over gene editing as a future therapy, complete with patent sagas and ethical conundrums. But at the bench, CRISPR's impact is also proving disruptive, and revolutionary, soon …

How To Hunt For Drugs In Dark Chemical Matter

Pharma productivity has remained a daunting challenge, notably because R&D departments have been shuffled and reorganized over the last few years in attempts to revitalize the process. One trend, among multiple parallel tracks, has come into fashion. With millions of …

Converging Trends Brings Organic Electrochemistry To The Front Line Of Drug Discovery

In a case of "back to the future", chemists at Scripps collaborating with instrument engineers at IKA have unveiled a powerful tool for electrifying chemistry to achieve complex reactions. The ElectraSyn is expected to change approaches to 3D-molecules, late-stage derivatization, …