Assay Development

Assays are investigative procedures in molecular biology to test the effects of drugs, which is the initial step in drug discovery. Assays are developed for different research purposes, evaluating the activity of compounds at the targets associated with human disease.

Drug Discovery Process

Hit Compound Identification

Assay development is a critical step in drug discovery, which is used to identify target compounds with desired activity on specific target.

• High throughput screening (HTS). Some potential compounds with desired activity on target are identified from a compound library via HTS.
• In vitro & ex vivo assays to retest the activity at the target of hit compounds.

BOC Sciences focuses on assay development and optimization in drug discovery for specific targets or physiology. To a ensure successful drug discovery process, we would identify the biological problem to be addressed, and develop the appropriate assays for compound screening.

Assays in Drug Discovery

Biochemical assays and cell-based assays are the two main categories of drug discovery. Biochemical assays are useful for evaluating the interaction between compounds and targets/target proteins, which is consistent and simple. Cell-based assays help identify the target expression at the cellular level and provide a functional read-out of compound activity. Due to different drug discovery processes, we have developed various assays:

• Activity assays (kinase/ATPase assays, protease assays, etc.)
• Binding assays (kinase receptor assays, protein interaction assays, etc.)
• Cell-based assays (reporter gene assays, ion channel assays, G protein-coupled receptor assays, etc.)

Due to assay development for research purposes, traditional drug discovery is shifting to target-based drug discovery with higher efficiency. BOC Sciences aims to provide customers with a set of solutions for assay development and optimization.