A new breed of CRO

Cresset Discovery is a new breed of CRO. This is evident in two core principles that guide our work.

The first is to use excellent in silico methods to aid small molecule discovery and design.

We believe that computational chemistry tools provide intelligent short cuts, enabling us to select ‘20% of compounds that count’ to progress to the next stage of design or optimization.

Computational techniques also give an extra level of insight to chemistry and biology. In the absence of a crystal structure, computational methods are the best way of deducing information about the protein target and the likely active conformation of the ligand.

Unlike traditional serial and parallel techniques, computational design allows for iterations, meaning that conclusions can influence thinking and the next stage of experimental design.

The second principle that informs our working style is our partnership approach. Our expertise is in silico work and we create synergy by working with others who are experts in their own field. While we can recommend partners, you can also ask us to act as the project manager – sub-contracting work such as procurement, X-ray crystallography, modeling and synthesis to our partners. This makes the process seamless for you as you then just have one point of contact and one invoice to process. The following examples demonstrate how this works in practice.

Delivering plated compounds

The results of a virtual screening experiment are a list of compounds to be purchased for biochemical screening. Rather than receiving a list of potential compounds to purchase, you can ask us to take the next step and carry out the procurement for you.

We have preferred suppliers for procurement and the delivery of plates. This gives you one point of contact, saves you the logistical headache of working with multiple suppliers and takes care of any customs considerations for you.

More than that, it means that we can use our insight into the results to make the best possible substitutions if a compound is unavailable or out of your budget. Further information: Managing the procurement process to deliver plated compounds.

Chemistry and crystallography

A current project involves working out how the 3D bioactive conformation of active molecules interacts with the target protein. Essentially, we are doing some protein detective work. Our team of expert molecular modelers have carried out X-ray crystallography to check the molecules the customer had. We will then go on to design new molecules, get them made, do the crystallography and get the chemistry done with our preferred suppliers and partners.

Our chain of partners means that we can manage your discovery process from target validation and identification, finding a molecule, synthesising it, getting it tested and doing first stage trials.

Request a free confidential discussion.