The tedious procedures of laboratory chermistry are being
overshadowed by machines that combine the power of computers, lasers,
optical reading systems and robotics.
The whole effort is expressed in a catchall phrase that is heard
very often: "high throughput screening" (HTS). Hundreds or thousands
of chemical targets are arrayed on a tray or slide and subjected to
very rapid analysis. For example, if a researcher wished to test
hundreds of patented drug molecules, looking for those that bind to a
docking site on a protein, a machine of this sort would do the job in
hours.
Each well of chemicals could be tagged with a fluorescent marker and
the protein under study would be added to miniaturized test tubes of
the experimental array. A reaction would give off light that can be
easily read electromechanically and translated onto a computer data
base.
By implementing this highly innovative approach, Zetiq has already
generated an impressive number of hits against colon cancer. Dr. Dan
Gelvan, Zetiq's founder and CEO, is a supporter of joint venturing
early in the career of young companies. He is currently negotiating
just such a relationship with as yet an unidentified company.
The company has developed an ability to screen for a previously
undetectable indication: of non-cytotoxic anti-cancer drugs. These
drugs encompass most of the therapeutic mechanisms presently regarded
as the future of anti-cancer therapy, such as oncogenic signal
inhibition, malignancy reversions and differentiation therapy, while
excluding the conventional ineffective cytotoxic, cytostatic and
apoptosis inducing drugs.