Bahne Stechmann
EU-OPENSCREEN, Robert-Roessle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany
Many biologists who are interested in developing a chemical probe for their target of interest and who developed an assay, often have limited access to automated compound screening platforms and comprehensive compound collections, which are generally expensive to purchase, operate and maintain. This represents a major limitation in the field to advance innovative drug discovery projects and chemical probe discovery projects in academia.
With the aim to address this need, researchers at >30 partner institutions in Spain and 9 other European countries have joined forces to launch ‘EU-OPENSCREEN’ (www.eu-openscreen.eu), which offers international scientists access to a wide range of state-of-the-art technology platforms, resources and expertise. This publicly funded initiative integrates high-capacity screening platforms and medicinal chemistry groups across Europe on a not-for-profit basis.
The aim of EU-OPENSCREEN is to collaboratively develop novel chemical probes together with external biologists and to support researchers seeking a better understanding on cellular phenomena by using chemical probes. Biologists who have a robust and suitable assay, and are interested in developing novel chemical tool compounds (inhibitors or activators) for their target of interest, can access EU-OPENSCREEN’s screening platforms on a collaborative basis and to screen comprehensive, rationally designed screening collections with >100,000 compounds. After the primary screening, EU-OPENSCREEN’s medicinal chemists optimise the identified ‘hit’ compounds during the hit-to-probe programme.
