Are you hitting the desired target?

Does your compound elicit the desired mechanism of action?

Are there off-target effects that should concern you?

CXR Biosciences use gene expression and pathways analysis to unravel cancer-related pathways that control cell proliferation and homeostasis, and how oncolytic compounds affect the processes that are critical for tumour development. This mechanistic approach can be used to overcome the different challenges in the drug discovery process from the identification and validation of therapeutic targets, the design of the most appropriate assays to use, and the selection of compounds as novel drug candidates.

Identification of on-target effects is achieved through investigation of malignancy-specific expression patterns in conjunction with the characterization of related signal transduction and other regulatory pathways. The characterization of the target protein’s function may then enable the development of assay systems for high-throughput screening to identify small-molecules with therapeutic potential.

Off-target effects can also be identified by analysing the compound effects on non-malignant tissues which can be useful to predict the potential for adverse effects in the clinic.