The Screening Platform at IRB Barcelona: Key to Advancing Personalized Medicine

The Drug Screening Platform at IRB Barcelona was launched 3 years ago to support the scientific community in the early stages of drug development.

Thanks to the 2023 Complementary Plan for Biotechnology Applied to Health, this platform has undergone significant improvements that will undoubtedly accelerate drug discovery in the coming years. Indeed, this funding allowed the platform to acquire a drug-target interaction reader, an impedance-based reader, a chemical library storage system maintained at -20°C with dry air, and an automated compound management platform.

The platform has also benefited from a significant increase in the number of chemical compounds available for testing, growing from 50,000 to 172,505—an increase of over 230% in the capacity of the chemical library. Additionally, the Complementary Plan has facilitated the recruitment of highly qualified personnel to conduct various experiments and operate the platform's state-of-the-art equipment.

These improvements enable researchers to perform high-throughput screenings and advance the identification of potential drug candidates. With over 172,000 compounds and two state-of-the-art automated laboratories, the platform offers capabilities for large-scale screening and precise analysis of biological interactions, establishing itself as an essential resource for identifying potential compounds with therapeutic activity.

One of the key elements that contributed to the consolidation of this platform was the launch of the 'Expressions of Interest for the ScreenTech Programme in April 2023. This initiative invited the scientific community to submit innovative proposals in personalized medicine that required the services of the Drug Screening Platform. The goal was to enhance the likelihood of transferring the results to the healthcare sector, thereby contributing to the achievement of the objectives outlined in Action Line 3 of the Complementary Plan for Biotechnology Applied to Health.

In addition to the ScreenTech projects, the platform is involved in four other collaborative initiatives within the Complementary Plan. These projects focus on areas of biomedicine, such as the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders like Fanconi anemia, as well as research into cancer-related therapies.

Another important aspect of the platform is its accessibility to the public, aiming to bring the work carried out at its facilities closer to a non-specialized audience. Since 2021, the platform has hosted numerous visits from key institutions interested in the scientific precision and the potential of the applied research advancements offered by IRB Barcelona. 

The platform has also attracted the attention of secondary education institutes, stakeholders, donors, and patient associations, receiving over 40 visitors since its launch. Additionally, several national and international foundations have shown interest in the innovations in drug screening and the platform's impact on accelerating the development of therapeutics. Finally, it is worth noting that the platform has also inspired IRB Barcelona’s resident artist, Laura Benetton, who, in September 2023, explored its facilities and found new ideas for her work based on the scientific process and microscopy techniques used in drug screening.

IRB Barcelona’s Drug Screening Platform has established itself as a cutting-edge infrastructure in biomedical research. It provides crucial support in the early stages of drug development and makes a significant contribution to strengthening collaborative translational projects in this field.
 

Source: Web Planes Complementarios