Drug Discovery - Challenges of high attrition rates and costs risk
Today, 9 out of 10 drug candidates still fail clinical trials, imposing a significant economic burden on the industry. Precise candidate selection for clinical advancement is crucial, requiring strategic decisions in the early stages to tackle financial challenges caused by frequent setbacks. Adopting novel, efficient, and scalable technologies in high-throughput screening is pivotal in this regard.
Different phases of the drug discovery process
qPCR - A promising but under-leveraged technology
One strategy involves developing test systems as physiologically relevant as possible, with quantitative PCR (qPCR) emerging as a flexible and sensitive method independent of cell type or species.
Its precision in quantifying nucleic acid sequences offers unparalleled insights into gene expression dynamics, critical for identifying therapeutic targets and evaluating drug candidates. One significant advantage of using qPCR as a (primary) screening method lies in its ability to bypass the requirement for precise knowledge about the site of action of compounds.
This means that exhaustive characterization of complex signalling pathways is not necessary. Instead, the focus shifts to directly measure levels of the native mRNA expression of the target gene, providing a straightforward and biologically relevant approach to evaluating compound activity.
Workflow of 1-step qPCR screen
Today qPCR is still an underleveraged technology for screening hundreds of thousands of compounds typical of primary HTS since its utilization faces two primary obstacles:
- The absence of ultra-high throughput support
- Prohibitive costs associated with the reagent amounts required
As a result, current qPCR platforms face difficulties in keeping up with the need for swift analysis of large sample sets, thereby constraining their scalability for high-throughput applications.
Benefit today from the next step in ultra-high throughput qPCR screening!
Say hello to Greiner Bio-One’s 1536 well thermal plate for faster, more efficient qPCR screenings. The innovative low volume plate design opens the door for miniaturized and cost-effective ultra-high throughput qPCR. Decimate your cost per datapoint as compared to existing 384 well solutions and increase throughput fourfold to handle up to 30,000 compounds per day per device.
The new 1536 well thermal plate from Greiner Bio-One
The automation-friendly plate exhibits exceptional thermal stability and conductivity. This is achieved by merging a rigid ANSI-compliant polycarbonate frame with a polypropylene plate meticulously designed for highly sensitive thermal applications.
Thanks to its ultra-thin 300 µm flat bottom design highly uniform heat transfer is ensured leading to consistent and precise results for all wells. Furthermore, the white pigmentation secures an optimal signal-to-noise ratio, enabling precise optical readouts.
Co-innovation in a strong partnership
As innovation doesn't happen in a vacuum, this development stands in the tradition of our collaborative projects with Bayer AG, which, back in 1997, already led to the groundbreaking introduction of the 1536 well microplate format.
In this spirit, a dedicated team of scientists and engineers from Bayer and Greiner Bio-One have embraced this new challenge - with success! The outcome is a game-changing and running HTS qPCR platform for full-file and sub-library pilot screens.
Are you ready to take the next step, too?