Abstract: A method for extracting a lead compound from a plurality of compounds against a drug discovery target, includes the steps of creating a scatter diagram for a plurality of compounds by disposing symbols representing the compounds according to a plurality of features of the compounds and extracting a lead compound from the compounds represented by the symbols disposed in a predetermined region of the scatter diagram. The locations of the symbols to be disposed on the scatter diagram are determined according to first and second features (for example, selectivity and activity) of the respective compounds, and attributes (for example, color and size) of the symbols are determined according to third and fourth features (for example, molecular weight and ligand efficiency) of the respective compounds.