A Library of Compounds Holds Promise of New Medicines


Pictured: The Hamilton Verso M3 in action at the Australian Drug Discovery Library at Compounds Australia.

Australia's drug discovery capabilities received a significant boost this year with the installation of state-of-the art, automated compound storage and screening facilities in Queensland.

The Hamilton Verso M3 automated compound storage system is up and running at Compounds Australia, based at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery. The system incorporates liquid handling robotics and provides storage for 10,000 plates and 430,000 tubes under tightly regulated environmental conditions.

Manager Moana Simpson says the new facility is an invaluable resource for the entire Australian drug discovery community.

"The acquisition of the Hamilton Verso M3 Store delivers on Compounds Australia's commitment to support world class Australian drug discovery research through high quality compound management and logistics."

The Verso M3 will house the new Australian Drug Discovery Library, which forms part of the Hit ID Platform project being supported by MTPConnect. This project brings together a powerful consortium of drug discovery, screening, and compound management players, including Cancer Therapeutics Cooperative Research Centre (CTx CRC), Children's Cancer Institute, UniQuest, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and Compounds Australia at Griffith University.

Consortia members, led by CTx CRC, have designed and purchased a carefully curated compound library for Australian drug discovery projects.

CTx CRC's CEO Brett Carter says both the library and the new compound storage and screening facility are important assets for Australian researchers.

“At the core of a successful drug discovery is a high-quality chemical library. Funding support from MTPConnect has enabled researches across the country to access a world class compound library and compound handling capability - essential inputs in being able to translate Australia’s world leading medical research into new medicines for patients”

“Without MTPConnect and the support of the consortia members, the development of the drug discovery library would not be possible.”

The Hit ID Platform project will ensure that the carefully selected and curated compound library is made available in a flexible manner and the necessary high throughput to the researchers. The library will eventually have up to 300,000 compounds, and can be rapidly provided in microplates (96, 384 and 1536 wells) for high throughput screening (HTS) / high content screening (HCS) campaigns.

The Australian Drug Discovery Library with the associated logistics in place is set to boost the national value chain in drug discovery, accelerate translation and seed the drug development pipeline.

For more information, visit the Australian Lead Identification Consortium at https://www.alidc.com.au.