High-Throughput Screening (HTS)

High-Throughput Screening (HTS) is a cornerstone technology for early-stage drug discovery, enabling rapid, automated screening of hundreds of thousands to millions of chemical compounds, biologics, and small molecules against validated drug targets in miniaturized assay formats. As a high-efficiency hit identification platform, it bridges target validation and lead compound optimization, leveraging automated liquid handling, ultra-sensitive detection, and data-driven analysis to rapidly pinpoint bioactive hit compounds with potential therapeutic activity. PharmaAnalytica, a core brand of STEMart, delivers customized high-throughput screening services for global pharmaceutical, biotech and academic clients, integrating industry-leading compound libraries, fully automated experimental systems and professional data analysis to accelerate the discovery of novel lead molecules for oncology, cardiovascular, neurological, anti-infective and rare diseases.

Our HTS platform supports a comprehensive range of in vitro assay formats, including target-based biochemical assays (enzymatic activity, protein-protein interaction) and cell-based phenotypic assays (cell proliferation, apoptosis, signal transduction, reporter gene expression), all optimized for 96/384/1536-well microplate systems to maximize screening efficiency and minimize reagent consumption. By combining high-density compound libraries, standardized automated workflows and rigorous hit validation, we identify high-quality bioactive hits with favorable potency and selectivity, significantly shortening the early drug discovery cycle and reducing R&D costs for our clients.

Standard HTS Workflow

Our standardized high-throughput screening service follows a rigorous 4-phase automated workflow, ensuring efficient and reliable hit identification for early drug discovery:

1. Assay Design & Optimization: Customize target-based or cell-based assay protocols based on client research goals and drug target characteristics (e.g., enzyme, GPCR, cancer cell line), optimize assay conditions (buffer, temperature, incubation time) and miniaturize to 384/1536-well formats for high-throughput screening, with strict validation of assay precision, accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio.
2. Automated Library Screening: Use fully automatic liquid handler to perform compound library plating, dilution and incubation with target proteins/cells in microplates. Incubate the reaction systems in the incubator under optimized conditions to ensure specific binding or biological activity between compounds and targets.
3. High-Sensitivity Detection & Data Acquisition: Conduct automated multi-modal detection of screened microplates using microplate reader, collect raw screening data in real time, and perform preliminary data quality control (QC) to eliminate invalid data caused by experimental errors or instrument deviation.
4. Hit Identification & Primary Validation: Use professional bioinformatics analysis software to process screening data, calculate key indicators (IC50, EC50, Z'-factor) and identify primary hit compounds based on statistical significance. Perform dose-response validation of primary hits with independent replicate experiments to confirm bioactivity and eliminate false positives, providing a detailed hit report with potency and selectivity data.

PharmaAnalytica's Technology Platfom

Advantages of PharmaAnalytica's HTS Services

Ultra-High Throughput & Efficiency

Support up to 1 million compound screening per week with 1536-well miniaturized assays, far exceeding the efficiency of traditional manual screening and accelerating early hit discovery.

Diverse Assay & Library Options

Cover all mainstream HTS assay formats, with access to proprietary and commercial compound libraries (small molecules, peptides, natural products) with diverse chemical scaffolds, maximizing the chance of identifying novel bioactive hits.

Strict Quality Control

Implement multi-level QC throughout the screening process, with standardized assay validation and hit confirmation, ensuring the reliability and reproducibility of screening results and reducing the attrition rate of hit compounds in subsequent development.

One-Stop Hit Discovery Solutions

Provide end-to-end services from assay development, high-throughput library screening to primary hit validation, and support subsequent hit-to-lead optimization and mechanism analysis, seamlessly connecting early hit discovery to preclinical development.

Backed by STEMart's strong R&D capabilities and PharmaAnalytica's professional early drug discovery platform, our High-Throughput Screening (HTS) services provide a reliable, high-efficiency hit identification solution for global drug discovery clients. We leverage advanced automated technology and standardized workflows to rapidly mine novel bioactive compounds from massive chemical libraries, lay a solid foundation for the development of innovative drugs, and help clients gain a competitive edge in the fast-paced early drug discovery stage.