omation mbers - Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening

3:00 pm Thursday, February 5 Discovery Case Studies Room B1
Walter Sneader
University of Strathclyde – Institute for Biomedical Sciences
27 Taylor Street
Glasgow, Scotland, G4 0NR United Kingdom
w.e.sneader@strath.ac.uk
Drug Prototypes – What We Learn From History
Pharmaceutical historian Walter Sneader looks at the limited variety of ways in which novel drugs were discovered
during the 19th and 20th centuries and how these have been largely exhausted. The consequence is that it has
now become exceedingly difficult to develop new drugs that are innovative. Current approaches to confronting this
issue are discussed.
3:00 pm Tuesday, February 3 High Throughput Screening – Ion Channels Room A2
Jennings Worley
Amphora Discovery Corporation
800-4 Capitola Drive
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
jennings.worley@amphoracorp.com
Higher Throughput Electrophysiology and Ion Channel Assays Technologies; Matching
Targets, Throughput and Target Prosecution Objectives
Despite the recognized importance of ion channels as therapeutic targets, significant challenges exist in
developing facile and robust methods for detecting cellular ion transport to support rapid functional analysis
in drug discovery. Technologies were first developed that transitioned single cell fluorescent measurements of
permeate ions or membrane potential that can result from ion channel function to plate-based formats. Application
of these and other ion detection technologies underpin the industry’s ability to apply HTS formats to measures
of ion channel function. This increase in capacity of library screening has now placed significant pressures
on traditional electrophysiology which, despite the power of these direct measurements, is mired by very low
throughput. Over the last few years, various technologies have been introduced which represent an evolution
of traditional electrophysiology by addressing throughput restrictions. For the most part, these technology
platforms vary from automated electrophysiology to plate-based formats and are preparing to significantly
impact chemistry progression by increasing the capacity of voltage clamp measurements of cells up to >50
fold. The overall maturation of ion channel screening technologies and methods has, for the first time, provided
a broadening collection of assay tools. Because of the complexity and breath of the ion channel target class,
matching technology to specific channel types as well the appropriate phase of drug discovery has now become
an important determinant of project planning. The presentation will endeavor to address strategic use of these
technologies, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, as they are poised to redefine project progression
pathways and objectives.
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