SARS-CoV-2 Drug Discovery Services

SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor screening is an essential part of COVID-19 preclinical drug discovery offered by Reaction Biology. As a CRO (contract research organization) we support the drug discovery community in the challenge to identify efficacious COVID-19 drugs with specific assays for SARS-CoV-2 drug testing with the goal to block virus entry and replication.

Our SARS-CoV-2 drug discovery services are available for pharmaceutical companies and medical researchers worldwide. Get in touch with the business development manager assigned to your country today.

We offer two assay formats for SARS-CoV-2 compound screening to discover new antivirals: biochemical protease inhibitor assays and a biophysical spike:ACE2 disruption assay.

SARS-CoV-2 S Protein and ACE2 Binding Assay

The SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and ACE2 binding assay is used to measure the direct binding of potential therapeutics to the Spike protein receptor-binding domain or ACE2 to determine the kinetics of the interaction or to measure whether the test molecule(s) disrupt the Spike/ACE2 interaction.

We perform this assay at our Malvern, PA facility using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology. Our team uses state-of-the-art Biacore 8K units that ensure accurate and comprehensive results. The standard turnaround time is two weeks.

SARS-CoV-2-related Protease Assays

We offer compound screening assays targeting proteases that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 virus entry and replication. These target proteases include ACE2, TMPRSS2, Main Protease (Mpro), PLpro and more.

Our protease assay screening service comprises fluorescence-based activity assays for low and large-scale screening, and for off-target analysis via full protease panel screening.

Beside virus replication drugs are also developed to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms with a variety of targets that are well established for medical treatment:

Target name	Target family	Assay format
ABL	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
AXL	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Cellular Phosphorylation Assay, Recombinant protein
BRD4	Reader Domain	AlphaScreen, TSA, ITC, MST, SPR
BTK	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
CDK4	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
CDK6	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
EGFR	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Cellular Phosphorylation Assay, Recombinant protein
IRAK4	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
JAK1	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, Recombinant protein
JAK2	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, Recombinant protein
JAK3	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
MARK3	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
PP1A	Phosphatase	Fluorescence-based Assay
PRKCG	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot
SYK	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
TBK1	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET, Recombinant protein
TYK2	Kinase	³³PanQinase, HotSpot, NanoBRET

Source:
E Pairo-Castineira et al., Nature, 2020. Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.
Y Qiao et al., PNAS, 2020. Targeting transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2.
E Weisberg et al., Pharm Res., 2020. Repurposing of Kinase Inhibitors for Treatment of COVID-19.
S Liu et al., CCS Chemistry, 2021. Potential Antiviral Target for SARS-CoV-2: A Key Early Responsive Kinase during Viral Entry.