Abstract

Catalyzing Translation through Improved Processes of Disease and Toxicity Screening

Anton Simeonov, Scientific Director, National Institutes of Health

The mission of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing, and implementation of interventions across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. There are several thousand known diseases affecting humankind and treatments are available for only several hundred of them, with new drugs taking more than a decade and costing over one billion dollars to develop. NCATS is directly addressing this problem by discovering new technologies and other approaches that could greatly accelerate the process of developing and deploying therapeutic solutions. An introduction of the Center’s intramural operations will be presented, focusing on the use of advanced assay and chemistry technologies to address the wide range of needs associated with early discovery space. Further, examples will be provided of novel approaches and improvements in the areas of disease model-building through collaborative stem cell and 3D tissue bioprinting technology development, construction of screening libraries of approved and investigational agents, collaborative assay development, and the processes of early-stage drug repurposing.