Disposable plastic labware is ubiquitous in contemporary pharmaceutical research laboratories. Plastic labware is routinely used for chemical compound storage and during automated liquid-handling processes that support assay development, high-throughput screening, structure-activity determinations, and liability profiling. However, there is little information available in the literature on the contaminants released from plastic labware upon DMSO exposure and their resultant effects on specific biological assays. The authors report here the extraction, by simple DMSO washing, of a biologically active substance from one particular size of disposable plastic tips used in automated compound handling. The active contaminant was identified as erucamide ((Z)-docos-13-enamide), a long-chain mono-unsaturated fatty acid amide commonly used in plastics manufacturing, by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy analysis of the DMSO-extracted material. Tip extracts prepared in DMSO, as well as a commercially obtained sample of erucamide, were active in a functional bioassay of a known G-protein-coupled fatty acid receptor. A sample of a different disposable tip product from the same vendor did not release detectable erucamide following solvent extraction, and DMSO extracts prepared from this product were inactive in the receptor functional assay. These results demonstrate that solvent-extractable contaminants from some plastic labware used in the contemporary pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) environment can be introduced into physical and biological assays during routine compound management liquid-handling processes. These contaminants may further possess biological activity and are therefore a potential source of assay-specific confounding artifacts.

Preserving the integrity of the compound collection and providing high-quality materials for drug discovery in an efficient and cost-effective manner are 2 major challenges faced by compound management (CM) at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). The demands on CM include delivering hundreds of thousands of compounds a year to a variety of operations. These operations range from single-compound requests to hit identification support and just-in-time assay plate provision for lead optimization. Support needs for these processes consist of the ability to rapidly provide compounds as solids or solutions in a variety of formats, establishing proper long-and short-term storage conditions and creating appropriate methods for handling concentrated, potent compounds for delivery to sensitive biological assays. A series of experiments evaluating the effects of processing compounds with volatile solvents, storage conditions that can induce freeze/thaw cycles, and the delivery of compounds were performed. This article presents the results of these experiments and how they affect compound integrity and the accuracy of compound management processes. (Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2009:476-484)

The introduction of lean thinking and Six Sigma methodologies into the drug discovery process has become an important approach for ensuring efficient workflows while containing costs. For the compound management department at Bristol-Myers Squibb, this has resulted in a partnership with the research community to evaluate and streamline processes to enable cost-disciplined science. The authors describe the results of Lean Six Sigma approaches in the automation and informatics environment that have been optimized to support parallel processing of compounds. This new platform facilitates the rapid and simultaneous data generation from structure activity and structure liability assays. As a result of these compound management improvements, reduction of timelines and quicker decision making has been achieved in the lead optimization process.