Cellular Screening

Designing and delivering robust, scalable cell-based screening assays that generate biologically meaningful data is our specialty, ensuring you can progress the right compounds faster, reducing late-stage attrition and de-risking downstream development, saving you time and money.

Challenges in cellular screening

Drug discovery teams often face common challenges when moving from biochemical or biophysical assays into cell-based systems:

• Poor translation from target-based assays into cellular or in vivo relevance.
• Uncertain mechanism of action or lack of target engagement data in cells.
• False positives driven by permeability, cytotoxicity or off-target effects.
• Low reproducibility and assay variability across formats and cell types.
• Disconnected workflows between biology, chemistry and ADMET slowing DMTA cycles.

By addressing these challenges, providing orthogonal, decision-enabling data that supports confident hit confirmation and lead optimization, the cell-based screening assays that we offer ensure your project is a success.

Cellular screening built around your program

Cell-based assays are used to assess how compounds influence key biological parameters, including:

• Cell viability and cytotoxicity.
• Proliferation and apoptosis.
• Cell motility and morphology.
• Target engagement and pathway modulation.
• Functional cellular responses.

These assays capture the impact of cell permeability, metabolism and off-target activity, delivering a more realistic view of compound behavior earlier in the discovery pipeline.

Using advanced imaging, automation and multi-modal readouts, our cellular assays generate high-content phenotypic data that helps you prioritize the most promising leads efficiently and accurately.

Cell-based screening assays

Our cellular screening capabilities support secondary screening, hit confirmation and hit-to-lead optimization in preclinical drug discovery, and include:

• Reporter gene assays.
• Target engagement studies - including NanoBRET®.
• Phenotypic screening.
• Cytotoxicity and cell viability assays.

These assays are both target and modality agnostic, making them applicable across small molecules, biologics and emerging therapeutic approaches.

Learn more about our cell-based screening assays

Integrated assay development and screening expertise

Concept Life Sciences’ assay development and screening group supports the full span of preclinical drug discovery, from hit identification through to lead optimization. Cell-based and target engagement assays form a vital link in this pipeline by enabling:

• In-cell target engagement confirmation.
• Cytotoxicity and cell health profiling.
• Mechanism of action studies.
• SAR development to guide medicinal chemistry.

All assays are supported by streamlined data analysis and recording via a robust ELN/LIMS infrastructure, ensuring seamless data flow between Biology, Chemistry and ADMET teams.

This tightly integrated approach accelerates Design–Make–Test–Analyze (DMTA) cycles and enables faster, better-informed decision-making.

Technologies and advanced assay platforms

Our scientists understand the nuances that determine cellular assay success including cell density, incubation times, vehicle tolerance, media composition and on-target versus off-target toxicity. This expertise allows us to rapidly establish fit-for-purpose, reproducible assays fully aligned to your project goals.

Cell-based and target engagement assay platforms include, but are not limited to:

• NanoBRET® target engagement assays.
• Glo™ assay technologies.
• 3D spheroids and organoids.
• Proliferation and chemotaxis assays.
• Jess SimpleWestern® protein analysis.
• Gene expression assays.
• Calcium flux assays.

Why partner with Concept Life Sciences for cellular screening?

By bringing all screening capabilities together at one site, and co-locating Biology with Medicinal Chemistry and ADMET, we help you:

• Reduce DMTA cycle times.
• Eliminate hand-offs and data silos.
• Improve translational confidence earlier.
• Progress from hit to lead faster and more cost-effectively.

Designed around your program, your timelines and your decision points, our cellular screening services provide high-quality, biologically relevant data you need to move forward with confidence.

Related integrated drug discovery services

• Biophysical screening assays.
• Biochemical assays.
• ADMET.
• Protein Biology, Protein Structure and Biophysics - X-ray Crystallography and Cryo-EM.
• Medicinal Chemistry.

Talk to our scientists to discuss how our cellular screening capabilities can accelerate your integrated drug discovery program.

Cellular screening FAQs

Q: What is cellular screening and why is it important?

A: Cellular screening evaluates how compounds interact with living cells, providing physiologically relevant data that helps predict efficacy, toxicity, and mechanism of action earlier in drug discovery.

Q: How do Concept Life Sciences’ cell-based assays accelerate hit-to-lead?

A: By combining advanced imaging, automation, and integration with chemistry and ADMET teams, we reduce DMTA cycles and deliver reliable phenotypic and target engagement data faster.

Q: What types of cell-based assays do you offer?

A: We provide reporter gene assays, target engagement studies (e.g., NanoBRET®), phenotypic screening, cytotoxicity, and cell viability assays — all designed for high reproducibility and translational relevance.

Q: Which targets and read-outs can your cellular assays support?

A: Our assays cover immortalized and primary cell lines, GPCRs, ion channels, nuclear receptors, and protein–protein interactions, with read-outs including luminescence, fluorescence, FRET/BRET, calcium flux, and mechanistic studies.