Oklahoma Center for Therapeutic Sciences
The Oklahoma Center for Therapeutic Sciences (CTS) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) is a trans-institutional OU-based hub for drug discovery and development. The CTS operates as a research resource under the OUHSC VPR Office, but is not an Institutional Core. CTS actively collaborates with the Institutional Cores at OUHSC listed below.
The Goal of CTS is to bring target discovery, drug discovery, and drug development services to Oklahoma to enable the translation of basic scientific discoveries into new drug candidates that can be developed into therapies and diagnostics for the full spectrum of human diseases.
The main engine of CTS is the Small Molecule and CRISPR High-Throughput Screening Facility (HTSF), a state-of-the-art technological center with a full suite of integrated detection, robotic and imaging instrumentation designed to enable high- and ultra-high throughput drug and target discovery using small molecule and arrayed sgRNA CRISPR libraries.
Technology at DTD synergizes with advanced biophysical, chemical and preclinical drug development services resources at the OUHSC. The OUHSC Laboratory of Biomolecular Structure and Function uses X-ray crystallography, as well as in silico computer-aided structure guided approaches, to measure interactions of drugs with their targets through visualization of molecular structures at the atomic level. This approach is used for optimization of drug-target interactions through iterations of structure-activity relationships (SAR)-based drug design. Included in CTS is the Drug and Diagnostic Development Core (DDDC) that will facilitate the drug development process by providing expertise at all stages regarding pre-clinical drug synthesis and pharmaceutical optimization; facilitating proof-of-principle data to support the proposed use by confirming therapeutic distribution, stability and time in body of lead product; and assess safety and toxicity. The DDDC includes the Molecular Synthesis and Analysis Facility and Research Imaging Facility that are located within the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, OU College of Pharmacy at OUHSC. These two facilities provide instrumentation and expertise for the optimization of properties of lead chemical candidates and the testing of compounds in preclinical models for ADME, PK/PD testing and dosing options.
The mission of the CTS is to provide a diverse array of core facilities and expertise to facilitate the translation of basic scientific discoveries into tangible pre-clinical candidate drugs that can be further developed into clinical therapies for human disease.