Drug Discovery

As the number of drugs in the pipeline continues to grow, developing a successful new chemical entity (NCE) requires a full-lifecycle perspective coupled with extensive analytical and medicinal chemistry expertise.

At Sterling, we’re committed to helping you discover and develop your next transformative therapeutic. We combine close scientific collaboration with expertise across each critical stage of the drug discovery process, from initial screening to lead optimisation, to help you identify an optimal approach and target compound for your intended therapeutic effect. In addition, we work closely with our customers to adhere to budget and time considerations, provide guidance at every step of the way, and set their discovery projects up for long-term success.

Explore our drug discovery services below:

Our hit to lead approach is proven, strategic and iterative. After performing high-throughput screening to identify potential hits, we analyse structure-activity relationship (SAR) and pharmacological properties to select promising compounds for further optimisation. We leverage a range of analytical techniques to evaluate efficacy and binding to the target before progressing to lead optimisation.

Once we’ve identified the best lead compounds for an intended target, we pair our knowledge of structure with predictive modeling to guide additional modifications and optimisation efforts. Our approach to lead optimisation includes functional assays to enhance lead compounds and select the best candidate to progress forward.

For a more informed approach to discovery, we synthesise and characterise relevant, widely available compounds to use as reference points throughout the drug discovery process. This enables us to more deeply understand the relationship between structure and activity against a given target, so that we can strengthen our optimisation efforts and provide our customers more informed guidance.

In the early stages of drug discovery, once a target has been identified, we synthesise an extensive set of compounds to screen for possible hits. We then characterise each selected compound using a variety of analytical methods, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. By starting with a diverse range of compounds, we can better compare properties and efficacy across a variety of structures.

We deliver expertise in the synthesis of novel metabolites, with the ability to scale metabolite supply up to multiple grams. We have experience designing metabolites with numerous stable isotopes, including deuterium, carbon-13, nitrogen-15, oxygen-16 and oxygen-17. Our experience in metabolite synthesis enables us to better understand a target compound’s behaviour in the body, including absorption, bioavailability, safety and efficacy.

When a target has been identified but numerous molecules are required, we leverage structure-activity data, computational modelling data, and medicinal chemistry experience to design focused libraries for hit to lead and lead optimisation. This enables us to narrow our analysis to a specific, yet diverse, set of compounds that act against a desired target. In turn, we accelerate discovery for our customers and increase the chances of finding hit compounds that behave as desired.