Hit Identification

Better Starting Points. Faster Drug Discovery.

High‑quality hits delivered through advanced screening technologies and fully integrated discovery expertise

At Domainex, we believe that better-quality hits lead to better-quality drugs. That’s why we combine advanced screening technologies, proprietary discovery platforms, and multidisciplinary scientific expertise to deliver hit matter that binds efficiently, exhibits strong developability properties, and is primed for rapid progression into hit‑to‑lead chemistry. 

Whether your target is well‑understood or highly novel, we design a custom hit‑identification strategy to maximise chemical diversity, reduce false positives, and accelerate your programme toward high‑value leads.

Domainex's Hit-Identification Technologies

 

1. High-Throughput Screening (HTS)

A powerful route when structural information is limited or broad chemical diversity is needed.

• Expert assay development for biochemical, biophysical, and cell‑based screens
• Flexible screening formats, from focused drug‑like sets to large, diverse libraries
• Industry‑standard triage cascade including retest, dose–response, orthogonal assays, biophysics, and early ADME

Ideal for targets requiring chemical breadth and rapid identification of tractable hit series.

2. Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD) with FragmentBuilder^®

FragmentBuilder® is our proprietary FBDD platform designed for high developability and structural richness.

Capabilities include: 

• ~1200 diverse, Ro3‑compliant fragments
• Biophysical screening via GCI (SPR) and Spectral Shift for sensitive detection
• Integrated structural biology for rapid binding‑mode elucidation
• Medicinal & synthetic chemistry for validating and expanding fragment hits
• CADD support for in silico fragment growing, linking, and prioritisation

3. Virtual Screening with LeadBuilder^®

LeadBuilder^® accelerates the discovery of design‑ready hit matter through computational screening, property‑filtered selection, and curated chemical diversity.

Platform Highlights:

• Structure‑enabled virtual screening using high‑quality models
• Access to Domainex’s curated NICE compound library
• Tailored property filters yielding high‑quality chemical starting points
• Rapid prioritisation of virtual hits for synthesis and testing

Ideal when structural data or reliable homology models are available.

4. Covalent Screening (Mass Spectrometry–Based) at Domainex

Covalent ligand discovery is invaluable for challenging targets, shallow pockets, and enzyme active sites.

Domainex's specialised approach:

• High‑resolution MS workflows confirming adduct formation and selectivity
• Integration with FragmentBuilder® and LeadBuilder®
• Efficient identification of reactive fragments, selective covalent binders, and irreversible inhibitors

Use when reversible approaches struggle or covalent mechanisms are preferred.

5. Affinity Based Screening (Spectral Shift & DSF)

Domainex's affinity‑based methods help prioritise true binders with early developability characteristics.

Techniques deployed at Domainex:

• Spectral Shift - sensitive, label‑free, real‑time detection ideal for rapid triage of screening hits
• Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF) - fast, robust thermal profiling for ranking binding events and validating fragments

These methods help reduce false positives and increase confidence in early hit selection.

Integrated Workflow: From Target to High Quality Hits

A streamlined path from target analysis to high‑quality, validated hits.

• Target Analysis & Bespoke Assay Development
• High‑quality Protein Production
• Primary Screening (HTS, fragment, virtual, covalent, affinity)
• Orthogonal Biophysical and Biochemical Validation
• Structural Biology (X‑ray crystallography, cryo‑EM where applicable)
• Hit Expansion & Prioritisation
• Seamless Transition into Hit‑to‑Lead Chemistry

Your Project, Accelerated: Domainex’s integrated workflows deliver results up to 30% faster than industry norms, without compromising scientific rigour

Why Choose Domainex?

Proprietary Discovery Platforms

FragmentBuilder^®, LeadBuilder^®, NICE libraries, covalent MS workflows, integrated biophysics.

Multidisciplinary Expertise

Protein production, assay development, biophysics, structural biology, medicinal & computational chemistry, all working as one team.

Proven Success

A history of delivering high‑quality hit matter, progressing target classes from fragments to lead candidates across diverse therapeutic areas.

Faster Timelines, Higher Confidence

Our optimised screening cascades reduce attrition and deliver validated, design‑ready chemical matter quickly.