Merck
HomeApplicationsPharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical ManufacturingPharma & Biopharma Startup HubDiscovery

Discovery

Discovery phase of new drug development

High-quality reagents, consumables, and lab equipment for drug discovery that are truly predictive of clinical efficacy and safety are critical to the screening process.

As your drug screening process progresses, our resources and programs are here for you at every step so you can focus on discovering your innovation and ultimately helping patients.

Request a quote
Set up your account

DISCOVERY CONSIDERATIONS

The stages of drug discovery are as follows:

  • Target identification: as disease biology is more fully understood, new potential drug intervention points are identified (receptors, enzymes, ion-channels, circulating agonists, ...)
  • Target validation: evaluate target and confirm its role in the disease state
  • Lead discovery: lead identification and screening, in which multiple drug candidates are developed
  • Lead optimization: chemically related series that survive initial screening are optimized to improve their safety and efficacy
  • Preclinical research: in vitro studies to assess the effects and toxicity of lead drug candidates

Accelerate your research with our interactive tools (protein and enzyme, and antibody explorers) and application knowledge.

Biotech Resources

Biotech Startup Essentials Program
Emerging BioTalk
Open Innovation Offers
Partnering
M Ventures
Grant Programs

Welcome Program
Seminar Library

Calculators & Apps
Target, Lead, and Safety Screening Essentials for Drug Development
Vaccine Development & Manufacturing

Biotech Hub Resources Workflow

Biotech Resource Hub

Biotech Resource Hub

Starting your journey to successful drug discovery, development, and commercialization

Pre-clinical

Establishing safety and effectiveness for your Investigational New Drug (IND) application

Phase I–II

Accelerating your process development with tips, templates, and application guides

Phase III and Manufacturing

Progressing from scale-up and tech transfer to quality production for trials and commercialization

Regulatory

Navigating one of the world’s most regulated industries starts with a trusted guide

Related Applications

Cell Culture & Cell Culture Analysis
Methods for bacterial, plant, and mammalian cell culture including techniques for proper cell growth and maintenance, transfection and gene editing, cell-based assays and cell imaging, and cell culture troubleshooting.
Genomics
Genomics protocols, reagents, and technical resources for your gene expression & silencing, DNA & RNA purification, PCR, qPCR, cloning, and sequencing needs.
Protein Biology
Protein application protocols, reagents and resources for your western blotting, ELISA, IHC, flow cytometry, protein detection and quantification needs.
Analytical Chemistry
Protocols and articles about sample preparation, liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, photometry & reflectometry, NMR, atomic spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography, titration, Karl Fisher, and wet chemical analysis.
Chemistry & Synthesis
Explore our wide range of innovative products and enabling technologies for end-to-end solutions in your chemical synthesis workflows and applications.
Pharmacology & Drug Discovery Research
Pharmacology & Drug Discovery Research
Research & Disease Areas
Explore research and disease area tools and resources for applications including research on cancer, cardiovascular systems, cell biology, cell signaling, developmental biology, immunology, metabolism, and neuroscience.
Biopharmaceutical Characterization
Large biomolecules, biologics, biosimilars, vaccines present challenges in characterization and quantification. Since product characterization is the foundation of safe biological drug development, continuous improvement of techniques and applications ensure efficient characterization and manufacturing of the drug.

Related Product Categories

Molecular Biology & Functional Genomics
Explore our gene editing & functional genomics, molecular biology, oligos & qPCR probes, and immunoassay reagents and resources to make your next discovery.
Filtration
High quality, consistent, and reliable filtration products for bioprocessing, laboratory filtration, pharma QC, and testing lab applications.
Proteins & Enzymes
Browse our protein, enzyme, and small molecule products, including products for cell biology, protein stabilization, cell culture supplementation and adhesion. We offer probes for most major pathways and target classes.
Antibodies - Primary, Secondary & Recombinant Monoclonal
Explore our vast selection of primary, secondary, and recombinant monoclonal antibodies for ELISA, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC).
ZooMAb® Antibodies
ZooMAb® recombinant antibodies represent a new generation of monoclonal antibodies that are specifically engineered using our proprietary technologies that provide state-of-the-art consistency and applications performance.
Flow Cytometry Antibodies
Explore our selection of high-quality flow cytometry antibodies to find the right primary and secondary antibodies for your flow cytometry analysis research.
Milli-Q® Benchtop Lab Water Purification Systems
Find the water purification system that fits your lab’s needs. Compact Milli-Q® pure and ultrapure benchtop systems can meet your application, quality, volume, space and budget requirements.
Labware
Browse our selection of essential lab equipment, including glassware, multiwell plates, cell culture supplies, laboratory sampling and labelling supplies, laboratory stirring, and liquid handling and dispensing.

RELATED SERVICES

M-Clarity™ Program
The MQ levels of the M-Clarity™ Program provide transparency so that you can choose, with confidence, suitable products that meet your needs.
Design for Sustainability
Design for Sustainability is our gold-standard design approach that keeps sustainability at the forefront of each stage of the product life cycle to minimize environmental and health impact, and simultaneously improve product performance.
Cell Design Studio® Cell Engineering Services
Cell Design Studio® is the leading provider of custom cell lines. Sigma-Aldrich® Advanced Genomics genome engineers can deliver even the most challenging edits in any cell line
Software & Digital Platforms
From our BrightlabTM inventory request & order and equipment management system, to our SynthiaTM software that enables researchers to easily analyze custom organic chemistry synthetic pathways, explore our complete offering of digital platforms and software solutions.
Bulk and Custom Services
We offer an extensive, reliable supply of production materials in bench to bulk volumes. Our custom services include quality control, testing, documentation services, chemical packaging, contract manufacturing according to your specifications.
SYNTHIA™ Retrosynthesis Software
Our custom cell culture product design experts can offer advice and support as you scale your bioprocess from clinical to commercial supply, assisting with liquid products, dry powder products, selection of raw materials, quality testing, flexible product packaging, and product documentation.
Services
We provide a wide variety of services related to many products, processes, and industries. Please select one of the categories below to learn more.
Sign In To Continue

To continue reading please sign in or create an account.

Don't Have An Account?