A-Z™ Anxiety / Stress / PTSD Drug Discovery Platform

Creative Biolabs is a preclinical CRO that provides evaluation for preclinical drug discovery in neurological disorders. A strong team, a desire to innovate, and customer satisfaction are at our core. Our long-term expertise and tailored solutions support your research from the early stages to the final stages of product development.

Overview

A large variety of rodent behavioral tests are being used to evaluate traits such as sensory-motor function, social interactions, anxiety-like and depressive-like behavior, substance dependence, and various forms of cognitive function. Experimental animals are increasingly used to screen for various psychotropic drugs. Animal models have long been used in neuropsychiatric research to better understand human disease states and play a key role in identifying biological and molecular targets to develop safer and more effective treatments. Animal models offer the advantages of detailed neurobiological analyses, experimental manipulation of specific components in brain circuits that underlie psychopathology, and the possibility of screening for new drugs with clinical potential.

Tests and Models for Anxiety / Stress / PTSD Drug Discovery

• In Vitro Models

Most pharmacological in vitro models include brain neuron cultures. Candidate drugs and toxicity screening processes currently rely on the results of early in vitro cell-based assays.

• In Vivo Behavioural Models

The most commonly used species in preclinical anxiety studies are mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus). The mouse has been the species of choice for behavioral pharmacology. The forced swim test (FST) and TST have gained enormous popularity as rapid screening assays for novel anti-depressants. Zebrafish are emerging as a promising model to study complex neuropsychiatric illnesses. Zebrafish possess significant genetic, endocrine, and anatomical homology with humans and rodents regarding anxiety traits. Zebrafish represent an ideal organism for neuro-phenotyping, HTS, and brain imaging studies, which also facilitate in vivo drug discovery and genetic screening. Zebrafish are bidirectionally sensitive to a wide range of anxiogenic and anxiolytic drugs, potentially useful for both disease modeling and screening for novel anisotropic drugs.

• In Vivo Tests

• Geller-Seifter test
• Vogel test
• Open field test
• Light/dark compartment test
• Hole board test
• Social interaction test
• Elevated plus-maze and other elevated mazes
• Stress-induced hyperthermia

Fig.1 Schematic representation of iPSCs-based models for drug discovery and development.

Creative Biolabs is a close-knit team of passionate scientists, engineers, and creative thinkers, all working together for our common goal- a future in which drugs can be discovered faster and brought to patients more cost-effectively. If you are interested in our preclinical drug discovery platform, please do not hesitate to contact us.