Best practices in compound management for preserving compound integrity and accurately providing samples for assays.

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.