It’s important to lay strong foundations for successful drug discovery at this first stage of the process. Our integrated target identification and validation platform combines AI with expert insights, and rigorous lab validation to guide targets through robust evaluation, ready for hit discovery.
Validated, high-quality hits, delivered through integrated technologies and expert collaboration, give you a confident starting point for faster drug discovery.
Turning promising leads into clinical candidates with speed, precision, and the scientific expertise to generate high-quality data and deliver real patient impact.
Delivering integrated, modality-agnostic drug discovery to tackle complex biology, accelerate development, and advance innovative therapies with confidence.
Advancing next-generation ADCs through payload-focused design, integrated expertise, and collaborative innovation to deliver safer, more selective therapies.
Driving biologics innovation through integrated design, structural biology, and multidisciplinary expertise to accelerate next-generation therapies from concept to clinic.
Combining deep therapeutic expertise with translational insight to design strategies, reduce risk, and accelerate discovery programs toward clinical success.
Accelerating oncology drug discovery through integrated expertise, innovative modalities, and translational insight to deliver candidates with real clinical impact.
Driving immunology and inflammation drug discovery through tailored assays, translational models, and integrated expertise for faster clinical success.
Advancing CNS drug discovery through integrated models, translational biomarkers, and multidisciplinary expertise to overcome complexity and accelerate therapeutic innovation.
Designing and advancing differentiated small-molecule therapies for obesity and diabetes through integrated expertise, mechanistic insight, and translational strategies.
Inobrodib, an exciting, first-in-class oral anti-cancer drug in clinical development by CellCentric, was collaboratively designed, synthesised and supported on its pre-clinical journey by an integrated project team at Sygnature Discovery. Inobrodib is now showing promising results in Phase I and II trials for multiple myeloma and other cancer types.
It’s important to lay strong foundations for successful drug discovery at this first stage of the process. Our integrated target identification and validation platform combines AI with expert insights, and rigorous lab validation to guide targets through robust evaluation, ready for hit discovery.
Validated, high-quality hits, delivered through integrated technologies and expert collaboration, give you a confident starting point for faster drug discovery.
Turning promising leads into clinical candidates with speed, precision, and the scientific expertise to generate high-quality data and deliver real patient impact.
Delivering integrated, modality-agnostic drug discovery to tackle complex biology, accelerate development, and advance innovative therapies with confidence.
Advancing next-generation ADCs through payload-focused design, integrated expertise, and collaborative innovation to deliver safer, more selective therapies.
Driving biologics innovation through integrated design, structural biology, and multidisciplinary expertise to accelerate next-generation therapies from concept to clinic.
Combining deep therapeutic expertise with translational insight to design strategies, reduce risk, and accelerate discovery programs toward clinical success.
Accelerating oncology drug discovery through integrated expertise, innovative modalities, and translational insight to deliver candidates with real clinical impact.
Driving immunology and inflammation drug discovery through tailored assays, translational models, and integrated expertise for faster clinical success.
Advancing CNS drug discovery through integrated models, translational biomarkers, and multidisciplinary expertise to overcome complexity and accelerate therapeutic innovation.
Designing and advancing differentiated small-molecule therapies for obesity and diabetes through integrated expertise, mechanistic insight, and translational strategies.
Inobrodib, an exciting, first-in-class oral anti-cancer drug in clinical development by CellCentric, was collaboratively designed, synthesised and supported on its pre-clinical journey by an integrated project team at Sygnature Discovery. Inobrodib is now showing promising results in Phase I and II trials for multiple myeloma and other cancer types.
Sygnature Discovery is a leading Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in High Throughput Screening (HTS) and complementary hit identification tools such as Virtual Screening, Knowledge-based design, Affinity Selection Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) and fragment screening. We combine advanced technologies with scientific expertise to help you identify the most promising starting points for drug discovery.
We deliver an integrated approach for hit identification, applying the most effective methods to identify hit series that have the highest potential to become drug-like compounds. HTS is a cornerstone of modern drug discovery, enabling rapid identification of novel chemical starting points through a combination of medicinal chemistry, biology, informatics, and state-of-the-art automation technologies.
As HTS is complex, factors outside of the core assay biology, such as library quality and hit identification strategies, play a critical role in success. Our HTS libraries and capabilities are designed to address these challenges, ensuring robust data and high-quality hits across target classes and assay formats.
Our HTS group brings extensive experience across diverse target classes, therapeutic areas, and assay technologies.
Supporting Your Research
Generating high-quality starting points for drug discovery requires multiple components: robust assays, reliable automation, secure data, and well-curated libraries. At Sygnature Discovery, we integrate these elements into every project to deliver optimal results.
Our capabilities include:
Data Analysis and Fidelity
Compound Libraries
HTS Workflow
Compound Tracking and Storage
Automation
Compound Libraries
Our libraries are central to successful HTS campaigns. We offer proprietary and commercial libraries, as well as customer- provided options, ensuring flexibility and customization.
LeadFinder Diversity Library (150k)
150,000 compounds with lead-like properties.
Low molecular weight and diverse scaffold structures.
Strict similarity controls for maximum diversity.
Vetted by senior medicinal chemists.
Freshly sourced solids
LeadFinder Prism Library (65k)
Proprietary library designed by Sygnature Discovery for the European Lead Factory.
Features drug-like compounds with high chirality and FSP3.
Includes novel, natural product-inspired scaffolds.
Offers exclusivity on up to 50 hits per screen for two years post-project allowing you to build your IP.
Additional Library Sets:
Protein-Protein Interaction Library (40k): Lead-like compounds with specific protein recognition patterns.
Kinase Focused Library (24k): Built on more than 100 hinge binding cores, enabling multiple hydrogen bonds.
HTS Process
Every HTS begins with assay development or transfer. Once a robust assay is validated, we conduct a pilot screen to confirm automation compatibility and provide early hit-rate estimates before the primary screen.
Primary Screening
Tests a single concentration per compound from selected libraries.
Can include in-house, external or customer- provided libraries.
Hit Triaging and Selection
Careful chemoinformatic triage and counter screens at each stage allows selection of an optimized diverse hit list for:
Hit confirmation with counter screening
Final profiling with concentration- response curves.
Hit Profiling We take a flexible approach to hit selection, accommodating varying performance levels and project needs. Final profiling includes concentration-response curves to identify the most promising compounds.
Workflow Flexibility: Each project is tailored to your requirements, emphasizing robust assays and adaptable workflows. We balance reducing false positives with minimizing false negatives to ensure quality outcomes. Dedicated scientists and a project coordinator oversee your project, supported by senior HTS experts.
Advanced Automation
Our HTS system, developed with HighRes Biosolutions, is designed for versatility and precision:
Flexible Design: Supports both cell-based and biochemical assays.
Echo Acoustic Dispensing: Ensures accurate compound delivery.
Reliability: Operates continuously for 20–30 hours and is available 24/7.
Remote Monitoring: Full remote access with CCTV for rapid error detection.
Dynamic Scheduling: Cellario software ensures uniform treatment across assays.
Integrated HTS and Compound Management
Our HTS group operates in close coordination with Compound Management to ensure seamless operations:
Fully integrated informatics for superior data fidelity.
LIMS Integration: Titian Mosaic linked with the Azenta store, Tecan Fluent, and HTS automation for accurate sample tracking.
Automated Systems: Includes Azenta capper-decappers, barcode screeners, and weighing stations for compounds up to OBE5 level.
Azenta SE+2 Sample Store: Capacity for 135,000 tubes and 6,500 plates.
Quality Control
We maintain the highest standards through rigorous QC:
LCMS Analysis Regular checks on HTS library source plates.
Comprehensive QC in Hit Validation Additional QC during potency assessment (EC/IC₅₀ determinations).
Data Analysis Excellence in HTS
Genedata Screener: Robust platform for processing large datasets.
Seamless Integration: Barcoded plate files link to sample IDs and locations for accurate data management.
Enables rapid upload and detailed interrogation of screening data by plate, batch, and screen.
Continuous quality monitoring through HighRes® system feedback and regular QC.
Sygnature Discovery has invested £3.75M in compound management to deliver cutting-edge hit-finding capabilities for pharma and biotechnology customers.
Unlock the full potential of High-Throughput Screening (HTS) with strategic counter screens. Discover when and how to apply them effectively, ensuring precise compound selection and optimizing your drug discovery projects for success.
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FAQs
Yes, we can screen either assay ready plates or register library plates and dispense/process them through our HighRes system.
Yes, we miniaturize all assays as routine, working predominantly in low volume 384 and 1536 plate formats, ensuring low reagent consumption
We can run a streamlined HTS format that is designed to fit your budget
Related Solutions
We bring together a dynamic blend of new talent and experienced pharmaceutical industry experts from a round the world, delivering excellence across every stage of discovery.
Delivering validated, high-quality hits through integrated technologies, strategic insight, and expert collaboration to advance your program with confidence.
When tools are limited and targets are poorly understood, affinity-based screening identifies novel ligands. These can serve as ‘bait’ in degrader strategies or be further characterized for known interactions.
Comprehensive target class solutions integrate advanced assays, structural biology, and medicinal chemistry to accelerate hit-to-lead and candidate selection.
