Use of human samples including peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in drug discovery is critical for increasing the chances of success for a small molecule screen hit. A review based on recent published data!

Several theories try to explain why many drug discovery and development projects have a moderate success rate. Even with the advances made in methods (HTS, HCA, library managment, etc), there are many hurdles for a small molecule on the long road to FDA or EMA approval.

One way that may improve predicted efficacy and toxicity of drug leads is to use human samples, such as blood, early on in drug discovery programs. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells  (PBMCs) can be easily used in a variety of ways during the drug discovery process to gain a better understanding of the effects of a small molecule.