Cell-based assays:Layout 1 14/1/10 19:58 Page 66
Assays
Current and emerging
trends in cell-based assays
In 2009 Drug Discovery World hosted a collegial-style roundtable discussion
on the present and emerging developments in this exciting and now,
fundamental area of drug discovery. The participants are recognised to be
thought leaders in this field and represent the pharma, academia and vendor
community. Although somewhat sketchy in places, this is a transcript of what
was discussed in what was a lively and interesting debate.
PARTICIPANTS
Robert Jordan – Publisher & Editor in Chief, Drug Discovery World
Martina Bielefeld-Sevigny, PhD – Vice President and General Manager of Drug Discovery and Research Reagents, PerkinElmer
Arthur Christopoulos, PhD – NHMRC Senior Research Fellow and co-Director of the Drug Discovery Biology Laboratory,
Monash University, Victoria, Australia
Richard M. Eglen, PhD – President, Bio-Discovery, PerkinElmer
David F. Mark, PhD – Senior Research Director, Roche Discovery Technologies, Hoffman-LaRoche
Kevin Pfleger, PhD – Research Associate Professor, Head, Molecular Endocrinology-GPCRs,
Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) and Centre for Medical Research, University of Western Australia
Martin J. Valler, PhD – Group Leader, High Throughput Screening, Dept of Integrated Lead Discovery, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma
Guido Zaman, PhD – Senior Director, GPCR and Kinases, Molecular Pharmacology Unit, Oss, Schering Plough
Robert Jordan (Chair): Today we’re going to dis- biochemical assays? Do we mean, basically,
cuss the current and emerging trends in cell-based enzyme-based type direct on the target…?
assays. I’d like to start off by looking maybe at
screening strategy. We know that cell-based David Marks: Or maybe you mean, for example, in
assays now play a fundamental part in a success- GPCRs, a biochemical assay would be a receptor
ful lead discovery strategy, and we know that binding assay? And a cell-based assay would be a
functional approaches open new opportunities to functional assay responding to a secondary mes-
novel targets and to produce results that are more senger signal, or some other cellular response?
biologically relevant in in vivo studies. So my
question is, when should we use cell-based Robert Jordan: Yes. Absolutely.
assays? Should they be in parallel to biochemical
assays? Or indeed, can we leverage functional Kevin Pfleger: So does cell-based have to be whole
approaches to develop smarter assays that are cell, or could it be membrane?
more biologically relevant?
Arthur Christopoulos: I suspect membranes on the
Arthur Christopoulos: How do you differentiate biochemical side of things. The other issue with
cell-based assays from biochemical, or biological- that question is of course when you’re talking
66 Drug Discovery World Winter 2009/10
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