Using generative AI to transform peptide hits into small molecule leads

There is a wealth of structural data on peptides that bind potential drug targets, serving as rich inspiration for designing small molecule inhibitors which can recapitulate key binding interactions while improving pharmacokinetic properties. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence capabilities including powerful generative models, there is significant potential for new AI-based tools to expedite the structure-based transformation of peptide hits into small molecule leads. In this Perspective, we highlight how AI-enabled prediction and design tools can potentially span the entire workflow from peptide to small molecule: target protein structure prediction, de novo peptide binder generation, diffusion models for generating novel small molecule scaffolds, and deep-learning predictors of binding affinity to rapidly triage candidates.