HTS Technologies--IBC Informa Conference

In 1997, approximately US $6 billion were spent on worldwide screening technologies. The estimate for the total global market for high-throughput screening (HTS) products and services was about US $1.5 billion (source: Medical and Healthcare Marketplace Guide, 15th Edition, 1999-2000). Genomics and combinatorial chemistry demand a technological shift away from present-day laboratory to fully automated HTS and ultra HTS (uHTS), with over 100,000 compounds screened per day. The potential of new technology in miniaturization and automation will ensure faster and cheaper solutions to discovery. The conference explored the rapidly advancing field of HTS and examined numerous areas of HTS application. Identification and prioritization of viable targets, and the development of 'information rich' screens without reducing screening capacity, are important topics. Furthermore, the essential integration of all these screening, analytical and parallel synthesis systems in one coherent process is considered to be of significant interest. Focused sessions addressed the rapidly advancing areas of ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination), toxicity and formulation screening, including virtual 'in silico' screening.