Cellular-based Assay Development and Testing

Enhancing Drug Discovery

Evaluating small and large molecule therapeutics within cellular environments is essential to understanding their efficacy, potency, and safety within a complex biological system. This process requires diverse, cell-based assay technologies — from phenotypic screening using high-content imaging to cell viability assessment through luminescence-based-assays.

Curia offers tailored assay development and screening solutions to support projects across the drug discovery pipeline. With advanced technologies such as high-content confocal microscopy (Revvity Opera Phenix™ and Phenix Plus™) and multiplexed protein quantification (Luminex™, Meso Scale Discovery™, FACS™), we employ both innovative and established methodologies to generate comprehensive data that helps move your drug discovery program forward. Using state of the art instrumentation, our team develops practical, predictive, and physiologically relevant assays to meet the unique needs of each discovery program, driving more informed and impactful results.

Cell-based assays are crucial across various stages of drug discovery, from initial screening and hit identification to lead optimization and safety assessments. They allow for the evaluation of diverse parameters, including:

Phenotypic Changes: Monitoring changes in cellular morphology, behavior, or function upon treatment.
Cell Viability and Cytotoxicity: Measuring the impact of compounds on cell survival.
Protein Expression and Pathway Analysis: Assessing the activation or inhibition of key signaling pathways.

Curia’s Stare-of-the-Art Cell-Based Assay Technologies

Cell-based assay technologies involve using live cells to study the biological effects of small molecules, biologics, or other therapeutic candidates. By replicating in vivo conditions, these assays provide more predictive insights into how a drug will behave in a real biological system compared to traditional biochemical assays.

These assays are crucial across various stages of drug discovery, from initial screening and hit identification to lead optimization and safety assessments. Cellular-based assays can evaluate diverse parameters, such as:

• Phenotypic changes: Monitoring changes in cellular morphology, behavior, or function upon treatment.
• Cell viability and cytotoxicity: Measuring the impact of compounds on cell survival.
• Protein expression and pathway analysis: Assessing the activation or inhibition of key signaling pathways.

Curia’s State-of-the-Art Cellular Assay Technologies

At Curia, we leverage advanced cellular assay platforms to deliver accurate, reproducible data that supports drug discovery programs. Our cutting-edge technologies include:

Custom Biomarker Assay Development and Small Molecule Screening in immortalized and human primary cells by:

Hit Finding by High-Content Imaging and Analysis

Large Molecule Therapeutics Testing

Lentivirus Production & Cell Line Engineering

Bioassay Potency Testing

• Luminescence and fluorescence-based readouts of compound potency, cell proliferation, and biological activity using fully-automated liquid handling platforms.

2D and 3D Cell Culture

• Cellular co-culture systems using 96-well, 384-well, and 1536-well assay plate formats.