Drug Target Identification and Validation for IBD

The identification and validation of therapeutic targets is the most critical initial step in drug discovery, affecting the probability of success at each step of drug development. This important process involves the use of a range of techniques to demonstrate that the action of a drug on a target can provide therapeutic benefit within an acceptable safety window. Given that only a small proportion of the potentially druggable targets in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been identified, there is a pressing need for effective therapeutic strategies and targets. Early and comprehensive target identification and validation can help establish a clear link between target manipulation and disease efficacy, thereby facilitating the clinical translation of IBD drugs.

Fig. 1. Summary on representative drug targets explored towards drug discovery and development of IBD therapeutics. (Li et al., 2021)

Our Target Identification and Validation Services

Ace Therapeutics is a preclinical contract research provider specialized in IBD drug discovery. We offer comprehensive target identification and validation services to accelerate the IBD drug discovery process.

Target Identification Services for IBD

We can support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the target identification process through complementary approaches.

• Experimental approaches, including affinity-based biochemical, comparative profiling, and chemical/genetic screening.
• The multiomic approach predicts the associations between gene and IBD by analyzing various omic datasets such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics.
• The computational discovery approach efficiently identifies potential targets for IBD by using machine learning or structure-based methods including reverse docking, pharmacophore screening, and structure similarity analysis.

Target Validation Services for IBD

Our team of experienced professionals ensures that each identified therapeutic target is scientifically validated. Our genomics and proteomics capabilities provide a comprehensive understanding of how targets interact with disease phenotypes. Our bioinformatics team performs in-depth pathway and biofunctional analyses to fully understand the role of the target in IBD.

• Druggability assessment. We can explore the sequence-related properties of the target proteins and the 3D-sturucture using x-ray crystallography.
• Assayability assessment. Our laboratory offers a range of biochemical and intestinal cell-based assays to help clients measure the biological activity of the target, characterize the pharmacology and assess the effects of function modulation.
• Genetic assessment. We help clients analyze the expression profiles of therapeutic targets to confirm target expression and function in IBD states.

Our Advantages

• We provide comprehensive validation solutions for reliable targets.
• We have cutting-edge technology for IBD biomarker discovery.
• We offer high-throughput screening for the effective selection of targets for the treatment of IBD.
• With our advanced molecular imaging technology, we can provide you with detailed insights into the biology of IBD.

Ace Therapeutics aims to help clients identify and validate known and novel targets for IBD and to accelerate treatment decisions, thereby reducing the risks associated with clients' IBD drug development portfolios. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us.