The discovery and development of new pharmaceuticals has for centuries been a principal aspiration of many members of the bio-medical research community. At the present time, however, we are still unable to cure a vast majority of diseases, including cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and arthritis; and there is also a growing incidence of drug-resistant infectious diseases. A significant effort and investment is thus still required in order to identify new potential treatments/cures. With this in mind, the National Committee of Biotechnology of the Israeli Ministry of Science has allocated funds for the formation of a NationalInfrastructure-StrategicResearchCenter to coordinate the search and discovery of novel compounds with pharmaceutical potential. The NationalCenter for High Throughput Screening (HTS) of Novel Bioactive Compounds is headed by Prof. Ilan Micha of the Faculty of Life Sciences and by Prof. Yoel Kashman of the School of Chemistry at TelAvivUniversity.
The primary objective of the HTSCenter is to act as a core unit focused on coordinating the multidisciplinary search for novel compounds with potential biological and pharmacological properties. The HTSCenter is currently coordinating a large number of different research groups involved in the collection of biological material from diverse and unique sources, in screening these materials for biological-pharmacological consequence, and in the isolation and structure elucidation of novel natural products. The research groups comprise of investigators from all the major research institutes in Israel, including Tel Aviv University, The Hebrew University, The Weizmann Institute of Science, The Technion Institute of Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The Volcani Center, Bar Ilan University, Migal Research Company in Galilee and the Israel Institute of Oceanography and Limnology.
Despite recent advances in chemical methods that allow for the inexpensive and rapid generation of thousands of new chemicals using automation, the pharmaceutical industry still looks to the natural environment as an inspiration for novel compounds. Thus, the HTSCenter is involved in the collection and isolation of natural products from marine and terrestrial microorganisms, plants and animals unique to the Middle East as a significant source for new drugs.
In addition to compiling a library of unique compounds, the HTSCenter applies available biological assays and promotes the development of novel ones by Israeli researchers. These novel bioassays provide for distinct opportunities in the evaluation and detection of new potential drugs.
The current paradigm in drug discovery, resulting from the pressure for better, faster and cheaper drug development is to use HTS technologies. In order to implement the current methodologies of drug discovery the Center employs a fully automated robotic system. This system enables the HTSCenter to obtain a high rate (throughput) of screening and consequently enhances the prospective of new drug discovery. Successful drug discovery relies heavily on the coordinated multidisciplinary effort of a number of research groups. The HTSCenter promotes the collaboration and strategic cooperation of a variety of different research groups in the Israeli scientific community towards the common goal of new drug discovery.