Molecule Generation for Drug Design: a Graph Learning Perspective
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Abstract (arXiv)
Machine learning, particularly graph learning, is gaining increasing recognition for its transformative impact across various fields. One such promising application is in the realm of molecule design and discovery, notably within the pharmaceutical industry. Our survey offers a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art methods in molecule design, particularly focusing on de novo drug design, which incorporates (deep) graph learning techniques. We categorize these methods into three distinct groups: i) all-at-once, ii) fragment-based, and iii) node-by-node. Additionally, we introduce some key public datasets and outline the commonly used evaluation metrics for both the generation and optimization of molecules. In the end, we discuss the existing challenges in this field and suggest potential directions for future research.
Key facts. Cited by 13 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 68 of its 144 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 18 Feb 2022.
Builds on
68 of 144 references.
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- 2025A Survey of Large Language Models for Text-Guided Molecular Discovery: from Molecule Generation to Optimizationcited by 12
- 2024Multi-modal Generative AI: Multi-modal LLMs, Diffusions, and the Unificationcited by 8
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- 2025Graph Guided Diffusion: Unified Guidance for Conditional Graph Generationcited by 5
- 2024A Review on Fragment-based De Novo 2D Molecule Generationcited by 3
- 2026Prior-Informed Flow Matching for Graph Reconstructioncited by 3
- 2025DMol: A Highly Efficient and Chemical Motif-Preserving Molecule Generation Platformcited by 1
- 2025Round-trip Reinforcement Learning: Self-Consistent Training for Better Chemical LLMscited by 1
- 2024Graph Residual based Method for Molecular Property Predictioncited by 0
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- 2025A Survey of Large Language Models for Text-Guided Molecular Discovery: from Molecule Generation to Optimization22 May 2025
- 2025DMol: A Highly Efficient and Chemical Motif-Preserving Molecule Generation Platform8 Apr 2025
- 2024Multi-modal Generative AI: Multi-modal LLMs, Diffusions, and the Unification23 Sep 2024
- 2024Graph Residual based Method for Molecular Property Prediction27 Jul 2024
- 2024A Review on Fragment-based De Novo 2D Molecule Generation8 May 2024
- 2023MAGNet: Motif-Agnostic Generation of Molecules from Shapes30 May 2023
1 more
- 2025Graph Guided Diffusion: Unified Guidance for Conditional Graph Generationcited by 5
- 2026Prior-Informed Flow Matching for Graph Reconstructioncited by 3
- 2025DMol: A Highly Efficient and Chemical Motif-Preserving Molecule Generation Platformcited by 1
- 2026Breaking the Bottlenecks: Scalable Diffusion Models for 3D Molecular Generationcited by 0
- 2026Prior-Informed Flow Matching for Graph Reconstruction29 Jan 2026
- 2026Breaking the Bottlenecks: Scalable Diffusion Models for 3D Molecular Generation13 Jan 2026
- 2025Graph Guided Diffusion: Unified Guidance for Conditional Graph Generation26 May 2025
- 2025DMol: A Highly Efficient and Chemical Motif-Preserving Molecule Generation Platform8 Apr 2025
- 2025A Survey of Large Language Models for Text-Guided Molecular Discovery: from Molecule Generation to Optimizationcited by 12
- 2023MAGNet: Motif-Agnostic Generation of Molecules from Shapescited by 7
- 2023The power of motifs as inductive bias for learning molecular distributionscited by 6
- 2024A Review on Fragment-based De Novo 2D Molecule Generationcited by 3
- 2025Round-trip Reinforcement Learning: Self-Consistent Training for Better Chemical LLMscited by 1
- 2024Graph Residual based Method for Molecular Property Predictioncited by 0
- 2025Characterizing the Multiclass Learnability of Forgiving 0-1 Loss Functionscited by 0
- 2026SWING: Unlocking Implicit Graph Representations for Graph Random Featurescited by 0
- 2026SWING: Unlocking Implicit Graph Representations for Graph Random Features13 Feb 2026
- 2025Characterizing the Multiclass Learnability of Forgiving 0-1 Loss Functions9 Oct 2025
- 2025Round-trip Reinforcement Learning: Self-Consistent Training for Better Chemical LLMs1 Oct 2025
- 2025A Survey of Large Language Models for Text-Guided Molecular Discovery: from Molecule Generation to Optimization22 May 2025
- 2024Graph Residual based Method for Molecular Property Prediction27 Jul 2024
- 2024A Review on Fragment-based De Novo 2D Molecule Generation8 May 2024
- 2023MAGNet: Motif-Agnostic Generation of Molecules from Shapes30 May 2023
- 2023The power of motifs as inductive bias for learning molecular distributions4 Apr 2023