Combination testing in a matrix format can be a powerful tool in drug discovery, when used appropriately. Properly designed combination screening assays provide insights on drug candidate and test agent additivities, synergies, and antagonisms. Eurofins Discovery scientific teams are well versed in helping clients design combination studies, from consideration of minimum matrix characteristics to choosing between designing for efficacy versus safety. Design with us for efficient resource management; we’ll help determine the combination strategy and minimum matrix requirements appropriate for you.
What value can you obtain from combination testing with OncoPanel®?
- Determine clinical potential
- Understand influences on drug efficacy or safety
- Widen the therapeutic window of individual treatments
- Combat drug and monotherapy resistance for long-term tumor control
- Inform repositioning and repurposing efforts
Genetic instability, selective pressure, and the development of resistance mechanisms present formidable challenges to effective anticancer treatments. OncoPanel Cell-based Screening for combination testing can reveal key pharmacodynamic interactions to overcome these challenges and guide dosing for the next studies. You can also evaluate combinations within the dynamic interaction of tumor cell lines and tumor microenvironment using BioMAP Oncology Panels.
Any of the OncoPanel 300+ human cancer cell lines or 110+ spheroid models are available for combination evaluation. Agents are tested in 9×9 matrixed combinations with data delivered in a dose-response matrix for a variety of downstream analyses including combination index, and Bliss score.
What types of combinations are possible with OncoPanel?
- Small molecule/small molecule
- Small molecule/therapeutic antibody
- Approved/non-approved
Assay formats offered for combination testing include singleplex, multiplex, viability, and 3D viability options, and provide the same readouts as those for our standard OncoPanel profiling and screening studies.
OncoPanel Combination Testing Reveals Synergies and Antagonisms
Figure. Bliss excess based on combination testing for multiple cell lines treated with the same combination of agents. This excess is converted into the Bliss sum, which shows whether the combination is antagonistic (negative, red) or synergistic (positive, blue) for all concentration combinations, per individual cell line. Additive effects are represented by Bliss scores close to zero (white).
