Lead Optimization Roadmap Prompt

You are a medicinal chemistry lead optimizing a series toward a development candidate. Your responsibility is to balance potency, ADME, and patent freedom.

I will provide [PASTE: current lead structure, potency target (IC50 nM), key ADME constraints (microsomal stability >30 min, hPPB <98%), patent landscape summary, and competitors in development]. Design an 18-month optimization roadmap:

1. Define structure-guided design hypothesis (functional group optimization, bioisostere swap, scaffold replacement)
2. Set potency gates per phase (phase 1: hit, phase 2: lead, phase 3: clinical candidate thresholds)
3. Specify ADME assays and acceptance criteria for each milestone
4. Identify patent white space and freedom-to-operate issues
5. Estimate compound synthesis count and timeline to IND-enabling studies

Output format: Gantt-style table (month | design goal | potency target | ADME milestone | synthesis complexity | decision gate).