The identification of high-quality starting points for drug discovery is an enduring challenge in medicinal chemistry. Yet, the chemical space explored in discovery programmes tends be limited by the narrow toolkit of robust methods that are exploited in discovery workflows. The European Lead Factory (ELF) was established in 2013 to boost early-stage drug discovery within Europe. In this Feature, we describe an exemplar partnership that has led to the addition of 21 119 distinctive screening compounds to the ELF Joint European Compound Library. The partnership could serve as a blueprint for the translation of innovative academic chemistry into discovery programmes.

鉴定药物发现的高质量起点是药物化学中的一个持久挑战。然而，发现程序中探索的化学空间往往受到发现工作流程中所利用的健壮方法的狭窄工具包的限制。欧洲铅工厂（ELF）成立于2013年，旨在促进欧洲范围内的早期药物发现。在此功能中，我们描述了一个示例性合作伙伴关系，该合作伙伴关系已向ELF联合欧洲化合物库中添加了21 119种独特的筛选化合物。该伙伴关系可以作为将创新的学术化学转化为发现计划的蓝图。