In March 2017, NCATS’ Assay Guidance Manual (AGM) editors added two new chapters. The AGM is a public resource offering best practices and guidelines for biologically, physiologically and pharmacologically relevant assays for early-stage drug discovery. A diverse editorial team of nearly 30 members from industry, academia and government update the manual regularly; experts from Eli Lilly and Company developed the new chapters, which are as follows:
- The In Vivo Receptor Occupancy in Rodents by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry chapter, in the In Vivo Assay Guidelines section of the manual, may assist investigators in determining the relationship between in vivo target engagement and pharmacological efficacy or toxicology assessments during the drug discovery process.
- The Automated Electrophysiology Assays chapter was developed to complement the Ion Channel Screening chapter in the In Vitro Cell Based Assays section. The authors provide guidance for assay development, instrument selection and cell-line choice for electrophysiology assays, along with detailed protocols.
The next AGM update is planned for May 2017.