The words we use, in plain English.
A
- ADMET
- Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity: how a compound behaves in the body. Predicted early to drop weak candidates.
- Agent
- An AI worker that takes one step of a task, such as reading, computing or drafting, and hands the result back with its sources.
- Agentic workspace
- A shared place where people and AI agents work on the same project, with the same data, rules and record.
- Audit log
- A record of every agent action and data access in a project: who or what did it, and when.
B
- Binding affinity
- How strongly a molecule binds to its target. Higher affinity usually means a lower dose is needed.
C
- CRF
- Case report form. The form used to collect data about each participant in a clinical study.
- CSR
- Clinical study report. The full report of a clinical study's methods and results, written after the study closes.
- CTA
- Clinical trial application. The request to a European regulator for permission to run a clinical trial.
D
- Docking
- A simulation that predicts how a small molecule fits into the binding site of a protein.
E
- ELN
- Electronic lab notebook. The digital notebook where a lab records experiments and results.
- Evidence trail
- The chain from a claim back to its sources, versions and the steps in between.
G
- GDPR
- The EU General Data Protection Regulation. It sets the rules for processing personal data.
- Guide RNA
- The short RNA that leads a CRISPR enzyme to the exact place in the genome where it should cut.
I
- In silico
- Done by computer simulation rather than in a living system or a test tube.
- IND
- Investigational New Drug application. The request to the US FDA to start testing a new drug in people.
- Invention disclosure
- A document that describes an invention so a patent attorney can judge whether and how to file.
- IVDR
- The EU In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation. It sets the rules for diagnostic tests sold in the EU.
L
- LIMS
- Laboratory information management system. Software that tracks samples, tests and results in a lab.
M
- Model routing
- Sending each step of a task to the model that does it best, and recording which model was used.
O
- Off-target effect
- An edit made at a place in the genome that was not the intended target.
P
- PK
- Pharmacokinetics. How the level of a drug in the body changes over time.
- Prior art
- Everything already public before a patent is filed. It decides whether an invention is new.
- Project isolation
- Each project has its own storage scope, and agents in one project cannot see another project's data.
S
- SAP
- Statistical analysis plan. It sets out, before the data is seen, how a study's data will be analysed.
- Sign-off
- The recorded approval of a result or document by a qualified person.
- SOP
- Standard operating procedure. Step-by-step instructions for doing a task the same way every time.
V
- Variant effect
- The predicted functional impact of a change in a gene's sequence.
- Virtual screening
- Testing large libraries of compounds by computer to find the few worth testing in the lab.