The Scripps Molecular Screening Center and Translational Research Institute

Abstract

The Scripps Research Molecular Screening Center (SRMSC) was founded in 2004 and comprises more than $22 million of specialized automation. As part of the Translational Research Institute (TRI), it comprises early drug discovery labs and medicinal chemistry. Together with Scripps Research at the La Jolla, California, campus, this represents one of the most competitive academic industrial screening centers worldwide. The SRMSC uses automated platforms, one a screening cell and the other a cherry-picking platform. Matched technologies are available throughout Scripps to allow scientists to develop assays and prepare them for automated screening. The library comprises more than 1 million drug-like compounds, including a proprietary collection of >665,000 molecules. Internal chemistry has included ~40,000 unique compounds that are not found elsewhere. These collections are screened against a myriad of disease targets, including cell-based and biochemical assays that are provided by Scripps faculty or from global investigators. Scripps has proven competence in all detection formats, including high-content analysis, fluorescence, bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET), time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET), fluorescence polarization (FP), luminescence, absorbance, AlphaScreen, and Ca++ signaling. These technologies are applied to NIH-derived collaborations as well as biotech and pharma initiatives. The SRMSC and TRI are recognized for discovering multiple leads, including Ozanimod.