Autonomous bioisosteric replacement for multi-property optimization in drug design

Abstract Optimizing molecular properties while preserving biological activity is a central challenge in drug design. Bioisosteric replacement, which substitutes a molecular fragment with a chemically or biologically analogous moiety, offers a powerful strategy for fine-tuning properties without disrupting target binding. However, existing in silico approaches often rely on expert-defined modification sites or struggle to modulate multiple molecular properties simultaneously. Here, we present DeepBioisostere, a deep generative model that performs end-to-end bioisosteric replacement by autonomously selecting and substituting molecular fragments to satisfy multiple target properties. The model captures complex relationships across the molecular graph, enabling the optimization of sophisticated properties such as drug-likeness and synthetic accessibility. By learning from experimental bioassay data, DeepBioisostere proposes replacements that maintain biological activities, even generating potential bioisosteres beyond the training data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in computational hit-to-lead optimization scenarios, highlighting its potential to accelerate rational molecular design without relying on expert heuristics or pre-established substitution rules.