MADISON, Wis.–Evotec recently completed its largest screening project with the use of Promega HaloTag® technology. Evotec reported screening over 250,000 unique compounds on live cells with an assay designed to detect the internalization of a novel membrane receptor. The results identified compounds that have potential to be first in class for the therapeutic area.

After extensive testing, Evotec reported that HaloTag delivered the strongest performance compared to other technologies. In contrast to other fluorescent proteins, the proteins fused with HaloTag do not fluoresce until the HaloTag binds a fluorescent ligand. HaloTag allowed Evotec scientists to specifically label receptors with low background levels and increased sensitivity compared to other technologies.

The screen was conducted with a throughput of over 10,000 compounds per day on a confocal plate imager, using a stably transfected cell line. After labeling the surface pool of receptors, compounds were screened for their ability to inhibit receptor internalization,

“We are pleased to be able to provide our customers with such rich information, so quickly,” says Mark Slack, Senior Scientist at Evotec. “It is advanced technologies like HaloTag that continue to expand our capabilities and service to our pharmaceutical and biotech partners.”

Cell surface receptors are frequently targeted for new drug compounds, and their localization in the cell often governs their cellular activity. Promega has specifically developed ligands for HaloTag of differing colors; some that do not enter the cell on their own along with ligands that do passively enter the cell. Using these tools, scientists can label different pools of HaloTag proteins- those inside and those on the cell surface.

About Promega

Promega Corporation is a leader in providing innovative solutions and technical support to the life sciences industry. The company’s 2,000 products enable scientists worldwide to advance their knowledge in genomics, proteomics, cellular analysis, molecular diagnostics and human identification. Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in Madison, WI, USA with branches in 14 countries and over 50 global distributors. For more information about Promega, visit www.promega.com

About Evotec

Evotec, with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, is a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs. The Company has established a powerful platform that is applicable to targets across all therapeutic areas and has specific expertise in the area of Central Nervous System (CNS) related diseases where it is building a pipeline of drug candidates for partnering.