This article and associated images are based on a poster originally authored by Carmen Ramos, Thomas A. Mackenzie, Inmaculada Iañez, Jose R. Tormo, Julia López, Laura de Lara, Juan A Marchal, and Rosario Fernández-Godino and presented at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2026 in affiliation with Fundación MEDINA and ibs.GRANADA.
This poster is being hosted on this website in its raw form, without modifications. It has not undergone peer review but has been reviewed to meet AZoNetwork's editorial quality standards. The information contained is for informational purposes only and should not be considered validated by independent peer assessment.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and highly heterogeneous cancer subtype that limits targeted therapeutic options and contributes to high mortality rates.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Carmen Ramos et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Drug discovery platform
- The SMART-TNT drug discovery platform uses physiologically relevant 3D tumor models 1-2, high-content imaging, 3 and profiling analysis to identify new therapeutic strategies.4-5
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Carmen Ramos et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
MEDINA microbial NP extract library
- A subset of 4800 microbial natural product (NPs) extracts with diverse origins from MEDINA’s collection were screened for antitumor activity in this platform.3,6
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Carmen Ramos et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Multicellular spheroids (MCS): Primary screening
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Carmen Ramos et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Patient-derived xenograft organoids (PDxOs): Extract confirmation
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Carmen Ramos et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Summary and conclusions
- The SMART-TNT platform successfully integrated MCS and PDxOs models with high-content imaging for NP-based drug discovery.
- Proof of concept: Identification of candidate anti-tumor hits, one pure compound and two active fractions
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Carmen Ramos et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Bibliography
- De Lara-Peña et al. 2024. PMID:38478342
- López-Tejada, A., et al. (2025). Signature-based repurposed drugs resemble the inhibition of TGFβ-induced NDRG1 as potential therapeutics for triple-negative breast cancer. International journal of biological sciences. DOI:10.7150/ijbs.112645. https://www.ijbs.com/v21p3949.htm.
- Mackenzie et al. 2024. PMID:38257340
- Fernandez-Godino, R., et al. (2026). Label-free morphometric profiling reveals early drug responses in 3D tumor spheroids. DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-9208673/v1. https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-9208673/v1.
- Iañez, I., Ramos, M.C. and FERNANDEZ GODINO, R. (2026). Whole-spheroid Cell Painting enables scalable morphological profiling of 3D models for high throughput drug screening. DOI:10.2139/ssrn.7511696. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7511696.
- Ramos et al. 2024.PMID:38908208
Funding
Spanish and Andalusian government bodies with funds from the EU NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1)
About Fundación MEDINA
Fundación MEDINA's mission is the discovery of biologically active molecules, drug candidates for unmet medical needs, and products of high biotechnological value for the industry.
Natural Products are pivotal in inspiring chemists and providing innovative chemistry. With their Microbial Natural Product collection at the head of our research, they are able to contribute significantly to the discovery of new drugs and industrial solution.
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Last Updated: Oct 12, 2026