Compound Screening
Our well-established high and medium throughput screening pipelines provide in vitro assays to assess novel antiviral compounds and existing compounds against new and emerging viral strains. We have expanded our drug screening capabilities with state-of-the-art robotic systems so we can provide our clients with screening results for lead identification or optimization as fast as possible, allowing your compound to progress rapidly to in vivo efficacy studies.
We can conduct a range of antiviral drug screens using bespoke assays for viruses including Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), Dengue virus (DENV), Enterovirus A, B, D, Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Human coronaviruses (HCoV), Influenza A, Mpox virus (MPXV), Nipah virus (NiV), Oropouche virus (OROV), Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Example of Drug & Antibody Screening Pipeline
Case Studies
Antiviral Assay - Mpox
Vero E6 cells were pre-treated with serial dilutions of Tecovirimat or Brincidofovir, followed by infection with MPXV clade 2b. Graph presents reduction in the cytopathic effect with increasing compound concentration.
Antiviral Assay - Dengue Virus
Vero E6 cells were pre-treated with serial dilutions of 4G2 antibody, followed by infection with DENV. Graph presents cytopathic effect reduction with increasing antibody concentration.
Antiviral Assay - SARS-CoV-2
Calu-3, AAT, or Vero E6 cells were pretreated with serial dilutions of Nirmatrelvir or Remdesivir, followed by infected with SARS-CoV-2 ancestral (GLA-1), Delta, or Omicron EG.5.1 variants. Graphs present reduction in the number of infected cells with increasing compound concentration.
Compound screening can be performed using human cell lines with stable or unstable overexpression of host receptors and viral genes we hold in our Containment Level-2 (CL-2) and Containment Level-3 (CL-3) laboratories. In combination with our expertise in generating viruses and their genetic variants of interest using rescue and genetic modification of viruses and related recombinant techniques, this provides us with huge flexibility (including assessing potency and breadth of compound efficacy) during compound screening, allowing us to tailor the screening pipeline as needed to suit your compound.
In addition to assessing virus replication inhibition in our drug screens, we have established pipelines to assess antiviral activity of compounds with diverse mode of actions – i.e. virus replication (viral protease and polymerase inhibitors), entry (neutralizing antibodies or other inhibitors), host factors essential for virus replication and pathogenesis (protease inhibitors, receptor mimetics) – making CRUSH a one-stop facility for all compound screening needs.