Lead compound

Pronunciation

Definition 1

In medicine, a chemical compound that shows promise as a treatment for a disease and may lead to the development of a new drug. Thousands of compounds are tested in the laboratory to find a lead (“leading”) compound that may act on specific genes or proteins involved in a disease. Once a lead compound has been found, the chemical structure is used as a starting point to make a drug that has the most benefits and the least harms. Finding a lead compound is the first step in making a new drug to treat a disease. (NCI Dictionary)

Definition 2

An inorganic or organic substance that contains the metallic element lead either in its positive-2 or 4 valence state. Lead compounds have a wide variety of applications in industry. Exposure to lead compounds affects the lungs, central nervous system and kidneys. Lead compounds are possible mutagens and are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens. The substance may be associated with an increased risk of developing lung and stomach cancer. (NCI Thesaurus)

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