Odyssey Thera’s protein-fragment complementation assay (PCA) strategy allows for the on-pathway and off-pathway activities of compounds to be visualized and quantified directly in living human cells.
Each of the hundreds of assays reports on the sub-cellular activity of a compound at a particular node or branch of a biochemical pathway. By testing a compound against a broad panel of distinct assays, both intended and unintended activities can be identified and can be traced to a particular pathway and mechanism of action.
Odyssey Thera’s database of known drugs and toxic compounds will also aid the process, allowing a comparison of the activity of a novel compound with the activities of marketed and withdrawn agents and toxicants.
“Our goal is to identify and eliminate unintended, off-pathway activities of compounds early in the drug discovery process,” said Dr Marnie MacDonald, CEO of Odyssey Thera. “This can be achieved by examining drug activity in the context of the networks of human cells.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.