Disease Target Validation and Compound Evaluation Using Pathway Analysis Approaches

Organizers: Jose Perez, Pfizer; Jeanne Magram, Boehringer-Ingelheim

 
Challenges in Drug Discovery begin at the stage of Target Validation and continue through confirming the mechanism of action of a compound in a cell. During Target Validation, Investigators often rely on knockout animals and chemical or biological tools to build confidence in a target. However, these may take a significant amount of time to develop or may not be available. To understand a compounds activity, investigators often monitor selectivity vs. homologous enzymes and look for down stream effects of a compound in a cell to confirm that the compound is acting on the targeted pathway. These approaches capture a very narrow view signal transduction and a compounds activity in a complex cellular environment. Pathway Analysis, an emerging area under the Systems Biology umbrella, is an effort to take a broader view of cellular function and a systems response to stimulation and pathway modulation. This mini-symposium is directed at reviewing some of the recent advances made in the application of Pathway Analysis to Drug Development.

1:00 – 1:10 Introduction

1:10 – 1:50

Yan Feng, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA "Identify New (Old) Cell Cycle Regulatory Pathways Using Whole Genome siRNA Knockdown and Multiparameter Imaging Cytometry Profiling."

2:00 – 2:40

Paul Young, Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Germantown, MD, "Transcriptional Fingerprints: Molecular Sherpas on the Path to Novel Drugs."

2:50 – 3:20 Refreshment Break

3:20 – 4:00

Peter Krutzik, Stanford University, CA, "Phospho-Specific Flow Cytometry as a Tool for Drug Screening and Development: Insight from the Single Cell."

4:10 – 4:50

Ellen Berg, BioSeek Inc., Burlingame, CA, "Complex Human Cell Systems Analysis for Mechanism of Action and Identification of Pathway Networks."

5:00 – 5:10 Closing Remarks