Lipinski's Rule of Five Explained (+ Check Any Compound Free)

By BioDockify Computational Research Team · September 6, 2026 · ADMET

Lipinski's Rule of Five explained — the five limits (MW, logP, HBD, HBA, PSA), what violations mean, famous exceptions like natural products, Veber's extension, and a free drug-likeness check.

Read the complete article with tables, code and references on BioDockify.

Key References

• Lipinski, C.A. et al. Experimental and computational approaches to estimate solubility and permeability in drug discovery and development settings. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 46, 3-26 (1997).
• Veber, D.F. et al. Molecular properties that influence the oral bioavailability of drug candidates. J. Med. Chem. 45, 2615-2623 (2002).

Scope & Limitations

Ro5 applies to orally delivered small molecules only Exception classes exist by design