PIC50: An open source tool for interconversion of PIC50 values and IC50 for efficient data representation and analysis

Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) is used to determine the potency of a drug against a variety of enzymes/ biological targets associated with the pathogenesis of multiple disorders. The IC50 values can be depicted in multiple ways, which makes it difficult to analyze the results presented in different concentrations. Representing data in the form of PIC50 values depicting the IC50 values as the negative logarithm of IC50 in molar concentration is considered to be a better approach as it not only makes data easily understandable but also eliminates the possibility of errors in data representation and reproducibility. Considering the importance of data representation for a better understanding of data and comparing efficacy and potency of the drugs, besides, the significance of PIC50 value in the field of CADD, we found that at present there is no single open-source software available to convert the IC50 values to PIC50 values and vice versa from millimolar to picomolar range. Therefore, in the present study, we develop a tool that could help researchers to interconvert IC50 values and PIC50 values in a reliable way to eliminate the possibility of errors. We validated our tool through three case studies where the data generated by our tool was found to be 100% accurate. Moreover, we present a case where data was published in literature with errors in calculated PIC50 values and demonstrated the importance and reliability of our tool.