Custom Assay Development: Tailored Solutions that Drive Your Discovery Project Forward
Drug discovery rarely follows a one-size-fits-all path. When researchers encounter novel targets, complex biology, or the need for high-throughput and high-containment capabilities, “off-the-shelf” assays often fall short. That’s where custom assay development becomes not just helpful—but essential.
At Southern Research, assay development isn’t an afterthought; it’s a discipline we’ve refined for nearly 25 years. Our scientists have built, optimized, and validated hundreds of assays that enable confident decision-making for pharma, biotech, and academic partners. But what sets our approach apart is the focus on aligning each assay with the unique biological context and research goals of the program it supports.
When Standard Assays Aren’t Enough
Custom assay development is often driven by necessity. Companies pursuing novel targets may find no published methods to draw from. Others may discover that widely available assays fail to capture the biology they need to measure, or that existing approaches cannot be scaled efficiently for a high-throughput screen.
In some cases, specialized infrastructure is the limiting factor. For example, Southern Research is one of the few centers able to run custom assays within BSL-3 containment—a capability that allows sponsors to evaluate pathogens or therapeutic candidates in safe, compliant environments that many CROs cannot provide.
Building Assays That Truly Reflect Biology
A reliable assay begins with an accurate representation of the biology at hand. Whether developing a cell-based assay to capture phenotypic activity or a biochemical assay that allows a direct measurement of target engagement, our teams emphasize reproducibility, robustness, and signal clarity from the very beginning.
Key considerations include:
- Optimizing signal-to-noise and consistency across plates, days, and replicates
- Miniaturizing assays to conserve scarce samples or costly reagents
- Ensuring results can scale from exploratory screens to decision-making data
This rigorous foundation ensures that when an assay moves downstream—toward hit-to-lead studies or regulatory submissions—it continues to deliver trustworthy results.
Experience, Infrastructure, and Scale
Experience matters in assay development. Southern Research has spent decades cultivating expertise not just in the lab, but across the full workflow:
- Hundreds of assays developed and validated across diverse therapeutic areas
- High-throughput infrastructure capable of handling screening campaigns with hundreds of plates
- An on-site compound library of ~650,000 molecules to accelerate exploratory studies
- Integrated data analysis pipelines to process hundreds of thousands of data points efficiently
This combination of people, platforms, and scale means sponsors can trust their assays will withstand the pressures of discovery and beyond.
Enabling Innovation in Emerging Fields
The need for custom assays is especially acute in areas where science is evolving quickly:
- Infectious disease: Optimizing assays to account for emerging viral variants, ensuring that the biology being measured reflects the latest realities.
- Rare disease: Developing cell lines that model specific genetic mutations, enabling assays that provide contextually accurate phenotypic readouts.
- Novel modalities: Designing assays for unique therapeutic approaches where no commercial kits exist.
By staying at the intersection of innovation and execution, Southern Research ensures that discovery programs remain scientifically relevant and technically rigorous.
Assay Development as a Collaborative Process
Perhaps most importantly, assay development here is not a black box. Our teams build plans side-by-side with collaborators—setting milestones, establishing controls, and defining success criteria together. This transparent, iterative process builds confidence long before the first data points are generated.
As one of our scientists explained: “We make sure the finished assay is not only robust, but also meets the requirements set forth by the client.”
Assay Expertise and Scientific Leadership in Practice
Custom assay development is more than a service—it’s a strategic enabler of discovery. By ensuring assays are biologically accurate, technically reproducible, and contextually relevant, Southern Research helps sponsors avoid costly missteps and advance programs with clarity.
In a landscape where novel biology and therapeutic innovation increasingly define success, standardized approaches will never be enough. Tailored assays aren’t simply an option; they’re the future of drug discovery.