Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP
Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP

© Fraunhofer ITMP | Bernd Müller

Drug Screening & Compound Repurposing

For Drug Screening & Compound Repurposing, we offer a comprehensive High-Throughput Screening, Hit validation and profiling capability, supported by a bioinformatics and IT infrastructure to aid rapid data processing and decision making. The primary focus of our work is the development of biologically relevant and screening compatible assays in the most common microtiter plate formats for use in biomedical research, chemical biology and drug discovery. These assays encompass the major protein target classes with readouts in all optical, label-free and High Content imaging technologies and can be operated making use of our fully integrated robotic screening platform. There are several small molecule screening libraries available, which include collections of up to 200,000 diverse compounds as well as target class focused, natural product and drug repurposing sets including approved drugs that have reached clinical use across 600 indications and pre-clinical compounds of varying degrees of validation, supported by a curated database. The selection of compounds for Hit to Lead progression takes place following mechanism-of-action, selectivity and ADMET studies aided by bioinformatics support.

 

Core competencies:

  • State of the art tools and technologies for developing innovative assays
  • Assay readout technologies include optical, label-free and high content imaging
  • Access to a variety of small molecule compound libraries
  • Triaging of compounds using mechanism-of-action, selectivity and ADMET profiling
  • Delivery of high-quality compounds as starting points for drug discovery
  • Expertise in progressing compounds to industry standard Lead and Candidate milestones
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Best practice in in assay development and screening

Expertise in developing of a broad range of assays, from biochemical assays to phenotypic or highly complex cell-based assays that make use of primary cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.

Access to compound libraries

Availability of compound libraries to address all chemical biology, drug discovery and drug repurposing projects. Information relating to the compounds can be shared with partners in order to allow selection of customized sets of compounds.

Provision of automated screening infrastructure

Most assays are developed in microtiter plate formats so they can be rapidly screened against our compound libraries. The screening activities take place using a state-of-the-art automated screening system with integrated liquid handling and reader devices. All raw data is accessed remotely and processed rapidly to identify active compounds for progression in the respective project value chain.

Development of critical paths for chemical biology and drug discovery projects

Our personnel have diverse backgrounds having been employed in academia, biotech and the pharmaceutical industry. They have the experience and track-record of developing critical paths that enable project progression to industry standards. A major focus is ensuring projects assets can be packaged for further progression.

REMEDi4ALL

REMEDi4ALL is dedicated to building and managing a comprehensive and accessible value chain that covers all aspects of drug repurposing, including scientific, methodological, financial, legal, regulatory, and intellectual property. By collaborating closely with research funders and the patient community, REMEDi4ALL aims to support a wide range of user projects and secure ongoing investments to become a sustainable entity. As a community of practice, REMEDi4ALL brings together all necessary infrastructure, expertise, and stakeholders involved in drug repurposing. The platform focuses on patient-centric research and development, offers extensive education and training, and works to establish consensus-driven policy positioning.

Additional Information

PROXIDRUGS

Funded through the Clusters4Future initiative, the PROXIDRUGS focuses particularly on developing new therapies for diseases with a high unmet medical need by utilizing the innovative concept of targeted protein degradation. Proximity-induced drugs can specifically trigger the degradation of disease-relevant proteins by directing them to the cellular recycling system, opening new therapeutic avenues for a broad spectrum of diseases. It is anticipated that 80% of proteins previously considered non-druggable could be targeted with this strategy. PROXIDRUGS aims to enhance this new class of drugs in several ways: The strategy includes identifying suitable functional subunits for molecular engineering, targeted optimization of pharmacological properties, and progression to clinical trials. To this end, the cluster connects partners from academia and industry, covering the entire value chain from basic to translational research. Academic partners include Goethe University Frankfurt, TU Darmstadt, University of Heidelberg, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP. These institutions work closely with major pharmaceutical partners, namely AbbVie Germany, Merck Healthcare, and GlaxoSmithKline, along with Revvity as an associated partner.

Additional Information

Exscalate4Cov

Using a combination of high-performance computing power and AI with biological processing, the Exscalate4Cov consortium has successfully identified a potential treatment against coronavirus. Raloxifene has emerged as a promising molecule that could be effective in blocking the replication of the virus in cells, and could thus halt progression of the disease. In October 2020, the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) authorized the clinical study of this compound as a potential treatment for covid paucisymptomatic patients who are in hospital or at home.

Additional Information

 

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