Researchers at the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed PathGennie, a novel open-source computational framework that significantly accelerates Computer-Aided Drug Discovery (CADD). The algorithm was created by a team led by Prof. Suman Chakrabarty along with Dibyendu Maity and Shaheerah Shahid, and the research has been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. PathGennie addresses one of the most persistent challenges in molecular modelling — simulating rare molecular events such as drug-protein unbinding without applying external biases or elevated temperatures that can distort true kinetics. Instead of forcing a molecule to move, the algorithm launches swarms of ultrashort, unbiased molecular dynamics trajectories, each only a few femtoseconds long, and intelligently extends only those trajectories that make progress toward a desired outcome. This survival-of-the-fittest approach for trajectories allows PathGennie to bypass the long waiting times required for rare events without compromising accuracy. Demonstrated applications include mapping benzene escape routes from the T4 lysozyme binding pocket and identifying three dissociation pathways for imatinib unbinding from Abl kinase — relevant for cancer drug research. The framework is broadly applicable to chemical reactions, catalytic processes, phase transitions, and self-assembly phenomena, and is compatible with machine-learning techniques. Importantly, the software has been released freely to the global scientific community, lowering the barrier for researchers and reinforcing India's contribution to open-science drug discovery under the Department of Science and Technology.
PathGennie: DST-Backed Open-Source Software Developed at S N Bose Centre Kolkata Fast-Tracks Computer-Aided Drug Discovery
Researchers at the DST-run S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, led by Prof. Suman Chakrabarty, have developed PathGennie — an open-source computational framework published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. It accelerates Computer-Aided Drug Discovery by efficiently simulating rare drug-protein unbinding events without external biases, and has been released freely to the global scientific community.
Key facts
- PathGennie is a novel open-source computational framework for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery (CADD)
- Developed at S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, an autonomous DST institute
- Team led by Prof. Suman Chakrabarty with Dibyendu Maity and Shaheerah Shahid; research published in Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
- Launches ultrashort, unbiased molecular dynamics trajectories and extends only those making progress toward desired outcome (survival-of-the-fittest approach)
- Demonstrated on benzene escape from T4 lysozyme and imatinib unbinding from Abl kinase (cancer research relevance)
- Software released freely to the global scientific community as an open-source tool
Mains angle
Q: Explain the scientific significance of PathGennie, the DST-backed open-source framework for computer-aided drug discovery developed at the S. N. Bose Centre, Kolkata.
Answer (50 words):
Researchers at the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, led by Prof. Suman Chakrabarty, developed PathGennie, an open-source framework published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. It simulates rare drug-protein unbinding events without external biases, demonstrated on T4 lysozyme and imatinib-Abl kinase dissociation, aiding cancer research.
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PathGennie, a new open-source software for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, was developed at which Indian institution?
PathGennie was developed at the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The research team was led by Prof. Suman Chakrabarty, along with Dibyendu Maity and Shaheerah Shahid, and is published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation.
Source: Press Information Bureau
Frequently asked questions
Which Indian institution developed the PathGennie drug discovery framework?
The framework was developed at the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology.
Who led the research team that developed PathGennie?
The research team was led by Prof. Suman Chakrabarty, along with Dibyendu Maity and Shaheerah Shahid.
What does PathGennie help with in drug discovery?
It accelerates the simulation of rare molecular events such as drug-protein unbinding without external biases, significantly speeding up Computer-Aided Drug Discovery.
Is PathGennie a commercial product?
No, PathGennie is released freely to the global scientific community as an open-source tool.
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