In-vivo imaging to understand the biodistribution of a candidate compound
Using imaging in drug discovery Multimodal and multiscale imaging solutions enable quantification and understanding of organ accumulation and biodistribution, target expression and engagement, optimal biological dose, toxicities/drug interactions and preclinical studies to predict what is seen in the clinic. Overcoming the challenge of quantitatively determining organ accumulation and distribution at specific time points In vivo […]
Optimising ADME and PK properties
XenoGesis is a pre-clinical CRO based in Nottingham, UK who offers experimental in vitro and in vivo DMPK/ADME studies, bioanalysis and pharmacology, alongside physiologically based PK modelling, human PK and dose prediction. This talk focused on four key areas where mistakes are often made: What is the point of optimising in vitro clearance? The importance […]
In-silico drug design
MedChemica is an in-silico drug design AI company with a suite of software and databases for drug design – they also support research projects such as the COVID moonshot project, alongside antibacterial and oncology projects. Why use in-silico drug design? In-silico techniques help analyse the data available unbiasedly, refine compound design and achieve the outcomes […]
Proteins, X-ray crystal structures, and how to get them
Proteins are the targets for most marketed drugs today, and high-quality purified proteins are required for the drug development process. Proteins are also important biological therapeutics, so the ability to produce high quality proteins is essential. What is involved in protein production? Highly expressed proteins can often be readily obtained from natural sources; however, […]
Make the molecules that matter
Optimising drug discovery With the increasing pressure to drive efficiencies in the drug discovery process, innovative approaches using computational chemistry are delivering proven results, particularly in the areas of lead identification and optimisation. However, these techniques require expertise that may not be available in-house. There is an increasing trend to outsource computational chemistry in order […]
Where can CryoEM be positioned in Medicines Discovery?
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) is a powerful structural biology technique that can be used to study a range of different macromolecular complexes and questions in medicines discovery. What is cryo-electron microscopy Recent advances in both software and hardware in cryoEM mean we can now routinely resolve structures for a whole range of different macromolecular complexes, to […]
Targeted compound libraries
Drug development is a complex process. In target-based drug discovery, the identification of a target (typically a protein) can emerge from academic or commercial research using a combination of genetic association studies, together with approaches such as gene knockout/knock-in. Where available, tool compounds can also be used to increase confidence in the target. Discovering chemical […]
Cell-based screening: Old dogs with new tricks
Aurelia Bioscience are a pre-clinical contract research organisation specialising in the development of bespoke assays and discovery-based projects for clients. The company offers assay development to detect protein-protein interactions in living cells using technology such as the NanoBRET target engagement assay, cell culture using 3D cell-based screening applications and magnetic electrospun micro-fibre technology, the study […]
HIT ID screening – understanding why your target is key
A critical starting point for a drug discovery programme is the Hit identification of a high-quality compound translatable to an optimisation programme, and delivery into the drug candidate. This relies on an integrative and comprehensive medicines research platform comprising chemistry, protein science and assay biology. These provide a screening cascade to identify the most druggable […]