Assays
“We outsource cell production because it is cheaper. We outsource compound profiling to another com- pany because of their expertise. We outsource assay development to gain access to certain technology.” HTS laboratory
Several directors commented they do not cur- rently outsource assay development, but would be interested if something unique became available.
“We would be interested in outsourcing custom assay development if a unique solution for us came along, but no one in the biotech industry supplies our specialised needs.”
HTS laboratory
“There was one company that approached us with an assay and it was really intriguing, and it wasn’t some- thing we could do, so we contracted them to do it.” HTS laboratory
Custom assay development
Faced with an increased need for assays that probe targets in a more natural but complex environ- ment, screening directors are asking HTS vendors for help in developing customised assays. The ven- dors often have specialised expertise in assay devel- opment through validating their own commercial reagents and assay kits. In the comments below, several vendors describe how they provide cus- tomised solutions for their clients.
Thermo Scientific HCSOnDemand™ offers managed services for cellular imaging to accelerate
research and drug discovery. Mike Anhalt, Product Manager at Thermo Scientific, says, “At the core of HCSOnDemand™ lays our expertise in devel- oping multiplexed imaging assays used to quanti- tatively monitor the cellular changes in cells after drug treatments. Cell physiology parameters such as morphology, viability, migration, nuclear frag- mentation and response to stress can be monitored and then measured in parallel and correlated with protein localisation, post-translational modifica- tions and abundance. To run a timely and efficient project, multiple review milestones are created within the schedule and a lead scientist is assigned to each project. This allows for direct and efficient communication to the client. In addition to assay development, screening services are also available, which is ideal for expanding capacity for time/resource critical projects” (Figure 5). According to Melissa Stolow, Market Development Leader, Cell Systems Division, Discovery Assays and Services at Life Technologies, drug discovery scientists are faced with a variety of challenges to overcome in assay development. These include the reduction of internal resources and increased pressure for biologically relevant assays. “Project goals are critical,” said Dr Stolow, “and we have developed a dedicated infrastructure to design and manage these to a successful outcome. We offer effortless project initiation and execution, managed by a dedicated project manager committed to proac- tive communication. With our suite of enabling technologies such as Jump-In™ and BacMam we can significantly reduce assay development time and
Figure 5 Array scan
Drug Discovery World Summer 2010
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