Founded in 1998, Cytokinetics of South San Francisco, Calif., specializes in discovering, developing, and commercializing small-molecule therapeutic agents that target cytoskeletal proteins. Although the subspecialty arena of cytoskeletal pharmaceuticals might seem fairly narrow at first glance, the potential benefits of this approach are far-reaching. Cytoskeletal components play fundamental roles in a range of cellular processes, including celldivision, motility, intracellular transport, and muscle contraction, and they have been implicated in a wide range of pathological conditions, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders.
From the outset, Cytokinetics' overall strategy has been to codevelop pharmaceutical research tools and information technologies that work together cohesively to facilitate drug discovery and development. In the few years since its inception, this young company has not only developed integrated platforms for high-througput screening (HTS) and secondary screening, but also has established an infrastructure for compound handling and data management.
Cytokinetics first identifies promising bioactive compound hits ...
