Phenotype Drug Screening Platform ; Based on Quantitative Morphometric Analysis of Cells

Summary A new platform has been developed for rapid phenotypic drug screening and cytological profiling. Recent studies demonstrate the platform’s efficacy for rapidly discovering and characterizing novel pharmaceutical compounds using morphometric analysis. This is achieved using a proprietary imaging and analytical system to measure samples based on a variety of parameters (e.g. cell shape, size, number of centrosomes, size of centrosomes, pattern of staining, perimeter of nucleus, etc…). Key improvements over the prior art include the application of advanced, non-parametric statistical analysis to cluster and compare the effects of compounds on cells, regardless of starting dosage. Results of the titration-invariant similarity score (TISS) are presented in a highly compact “heat plot” for rapid extrapolation of discovery data.

As a leader in cytoskeleton biology and cell-based imaging, Prof. Mitchison is currently co-director of the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (ICCB) at Harvard Medical School. Since its inception in 1998, the ICCB has provided high throughput screening services to the Harvard community, and has developed novel screening methods for drug discovery and research applications.

Applications The screening platform will apply to hit-to-lead drug discovery and toxicity studies. Immediately relevant therapeutic areas will include oncology, neurodegenerative disease, anti-bacterials, anti-virals and wound healing. Other applications may include scoring of genetic screens (e.g. RNAi) and systems biology drug discovery, which will capitalize on high content, temporal data collection. For Further Information Please Contact the Director of Business Development Michal Preminger Email: [email protected] Telephone: (617) 432-0920

Inventor(s): Mitchison, Timothy J.

Type of Offer: Licensing



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