Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2023; 29(2): 310-331
Published online Jan 14, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i2.310
Modern drug discovery for inflammatory bowel disease: The role of computational methods
Titilayo Omolara Johnson, Augustina Oduje Akinsanmi, Stephen Adakole Ejembi, Olugbenga Eyitayo Adeyemi, Jane-Rose Oche, Grace Inioluwa Johnson, Abayomi Emmanuel Adegboyega
Titilayo Omolara Johnson, Augustina Oduje Akinsanmi, Stephen Adakole Ejembi, Olugbenga Eyitayo Adeyemi, Jane-Rose Oche, Abayomi Emmanuel Adegboyega, Department of Biochemistry, University of Jos, Jos 930222, Plateau, Nigeria
Grace Inioluwa Johnson, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Jos, Jos 930222, Plateau, Nigeria
Author contributions: Johnson TO designed the report; Johnson TO, Oduje AA, Ejembi SA, Adeyemi OE, Oche JR, Johnson GI and Adegboyega AE provided important intellectual contributions; All authors contributed to the writing and revision of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Titilayo Omolara Johnson, BSc, MSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Jos, Bauchi Road, Jos 930222, Plateau, Nigeria. titijohnson2004@yahoo.com
Received: September 22, 2022
Peer-review started: September 22, 2022
First decision: October 18, 2022
Revised: November 2, 2022
Accepted: December 21, 2022
Article in press: December 21, 2022
Published online: January 14, 2023
Processing time: 105 Days and 12.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: For the design of small molecule drugs to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), highly effective and time-saving approaches, such as computational methods, are still a viable choice. By complementing experimental studies with computational approaches, the probability of successful drug discovery is increased while simultaneously reducing associated costs. This article provides a summary of the current drug discovery pipeline for IBD, with special emphasis on the part played by computational methods. The use of in silico genomic studies, target identification, and virtual screening to find new drugs and repurpose existing drugs for the treatment of IBD are discussed.