Test Molecules Yield a Lead Compound

A small company with a series of untested molecules approached Piedmont Research Center (PRC). From this molecule set, PRC helped identify a lead compound, establish an effective schedule, show efficacy in a number of models and tumor types and demonstrate a novel and unexpected oral activity. A scoring system was established to evaluate various promising molecules. Once a lead compound was chosen, PRC helped assemble and present the data package to potential licensing partners, including meetings at potential partners and audits of PRC & PRC data on site.

Once the licensing agreement was complete, a massive screening program was started to identify a follow-up compound. In order to do this, PRC outlined a combination of in vitro screening, testing in two models, using two routes of administration and toxicity profiling in a second species. All the data went into a scoring system, based on the original system, but supplemented with the extra data.

In the course of a one-year screening program, PRC has received approximately 180 compounds for screening and put all of them through at least one in vivo screen. Three abstracts have been published with this data, with a manuscript in preparation.