Methods for identifying combinations of entities as therapeutics

摘要

A method of discovering a desired two or higher order combination of compounds having the ability to affect a biological property of living cells in away that is indicative of the potential for therapeutic efficacy in an animal, wherein the method comprises of the steps: (a) providing at least forty-nine unique combinations of at least seven different compounds, (b) contacting each unique combination with the living test cells in vitro under conditions that ensure that each contacting is segregated from the others, (c) measuring or detecting the biological property of the test cells as an indication of the effect of each combination on the test cells, (d) identifying a combination that affects the biological property of the test cells in the way that is indicative of the potential for therapeutic efficacy, and (e) at any time during the method, contacting each compound in the combination identified in step (d) with the living test cells and thereafter measuring or detecting the biological property of the test cells as an indication of the effect of each compound on the test cells, wherein the combination identified in step (d) constitutes the desired combination if the effect of the combination on the biological property of the test cells is qualitatively or quantitatively superior to the effect of each compound, individually, on the biological property of the test cells.