Barcelona, Spain:  Prous Institute for Biomedical Research (PIBR) has announced today a research collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard implementing novel computational target action prediction methods to develop mechanistic hypotheses for small molecules. As part of the research plan Prous Institute will use their proprietary computational methods to predict targets for compounds used in cancer cell line small molecule sensitivity profiling experiments, and Broad will work with Prous scientists to quantify measures of prediction accuracy. The in silico screening technology will also be applied to predict the mechanisms of action of compounds derived from phenotypic profiling efforts at Broad.  

Prous Institute has developed Symmetry Global Mechanism of Action (GMoA), an in silico system to identify the probable molecular targets and mode of action of small molecules by screening more than 1,000 mechanisms of action associated with therapeutic activity and safety liabilities. Symmetry GMoA is used by scientists as a hypothesis generation tool to support drug discovery and the detection of potential off-target liabilities.    

About Prous Institute for Biomedical Research  

Prous Institute for Biomedical Research is a research company comprised of two business units: drug discovery and in silico technologies. Prous Institute’s drug discovery and research unit is committed to discovering novel therapies through the application of its proprietary drug discovery platform, Symmetry.  Prous Institute’s in silico technologies unit focuses on the research, development and commercialization of chemoinformatics and toxicity prediction tools for drug discovery and safety screening.  

Prous Institute for Biomedical Research was founded as a spin-off from the leading scientific information provider, Prous Science (acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2007), in order to put into practice innovative in silico approaches to accelerate drug discovery.   

Prous Institute SymmetrySM is a predictive analytics platform that enables hypothesis generation and elucidates the therapeutic and safety profile of small molecules. For further information, visit the Symmetry website.

About the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard  

The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was launched in 2004 to empower this generation of creative scientists to transform medicine. The Broad Institute seeks to describe all the molecular components of life and their connections; discover the molecular basis of major human diseases; develop effective new approaches to diagnostics and therapeutics; and disseminate discoveries, tools, methods and data openly to the entire scientific community.  

Founded by MIT, Harvard and its affiliated hospitals, and the visionary Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad, the Broad Institute includes faculty, professional staff and students from throughout the MIT and Harvard biomedical research communities and beyond, with collaborations spanning over a hundred private and public institutions in more than 40 countries worldwide. For further information about the Broad Institute, go to http://www.broadinstitute.org.