Small molecule high throughput screen using AstraZeneca facilities (Grant)

This funding opportunity provides academic researchers with access to run a high throughput screen (HTS) using AstraZeneca's compound library of over two million molecules and state-of-the-art screening robots. The Medical Research Council (MRC) will support up to four projects per year, offering unprecedented access to advanced compound management facilities, a large compound collection, and multiple assay platform technologies. Academic researchers will collaborate with AstraZeneca to support assay optimisation, investigation of alternative readout technologies, and pilot HTS screening prior to transfer to the HTS platform. Depending on optimisation results, a compound set of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 molecules will be screened. The initiative aims to support academic drug discovery projects by identifying potential starting points for small molecule medicinal drugs. While open to all targets, this round has a thematic focus on mental health or dementia (including Parkinson's and Huntington's), with applications in these areas receiving a strategic uplift at ranking. The research organisation will own all generated intellectual property, with AstraZeneca having first right to negotiate an exclusive licence.