First automated system dedicated to secondary screening and pharmacology profiling of compounds targeting G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ion channels
Biacore International has demonstrated its new Procel system at the international drug discovery conference, Screentech, in San Diego.
Procel is the first automated system dedicated to secondary screening and pharmacology profiling of compounds targeting G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ion channels, which form more than 33% of all drug targets today.
The system can rapidly characterise potential new drug leads based on their effect on these targets in live cells, which enables scientists to predict how lead compounds might behave in vivo with a greater degree of confidence.
In addition to a technology workshop, poster presentations will illustrate how Procel provides novel and valuable information on potential drug candidates, aiding lead selection.
Saving time, resources and material, Procel automatically performs hit verification, dose-response curves and Schild analyses without serial dilutions of compounds.
In addition, the system offers the hardware and software flexibility needed to set up the protocols required for in-depth analysis of compounds.
This allows users to obtain high quality information on signal transduction, potency, efficacy, mechanism and specificity to rapidly identify successful drug candidates. "Today's pharmaceutical company needs more and better drug leads in its pipeline and Procel can help make this happen faster and more cost effectively," commented Julian Abery, vice president and head of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology business unit at Biacore.
"Using calcium flux and membrane potential assays, Procel can give scientists a unique understanding of the mechanism of action for a specific new drug lead, resulting in faster lead characterisation, and ultimately, increased productivity." Procel is designed to complement Biacore S51, launched in late 2001 for lead characterisation and preclinical applications in drug discovery.
In combination, the two platforms will allow Biacore to offer the drug discovery industry solutions for both cellular and molecular based assays designed to dramatically accelerate the optimisation of quality lead compounds for drug development.
