Cell Lines & Primary Cells

MOA-reflective Cell Line Assays & Validated Cell Lines, Primary Cells, & Frozen Cells for Expediting Drug Discovery & Development Programs

Engineered cell lines are essential for in vitro cell-based assays that replicate the physiology of biological systems. Cell lines are developed to reflect the target’s mechanism of action (MOA) with a drug interaction in a standard cell line background. Cell lines can be propagated repeatedly and maintained in culture for extended periods of time. These cells enable the delivery of more physiologically relevant results in a cost-effective and reproducible manner.

With over two decades of experience generating stable cell lines used throughout drug discovery, development, and drug therapeutic commercialization, Eurofins DiscoverX® provides the most extensive collection of over 1,000 fully qualified, functional cell lines and cell line assays that enable unique drug discovery and development solutions at every stage of your program. Cell lines cover all major drug target classes including GPCRs, cytokines, kinases, checkpoint inhibitors, ion channels, and nuclear proteins.

Eurofins DiscoverX cell line assays deliver validated stable cell lines with fully optimized reagents to perform both functional and binding assays with precision and reproducibility. Designed for scientists working across all phases of drug discovery and development, and in commercialization, these assays enable you to move seamlessly from early research through late-stage testing and into QC lot release with confidence in your data. These assays simplify setup and reduce variability by providing all required reagents in one package (kit) —including MOA-reflective stable cell lines, AssayComplete™ cell culture reagents, selection reagents, and sensitive detection reagents — all pre-optimized for consistent performance.

Whether your focus is on small molecules, peptides, biologics, or biosimilars, these solutions are designed and built to support all stages of your program – accelerating your high-throughput screening, lead optimization, potency ranking, and drug potency testing.

Product Highlights
  • Validated Assays – Rigorously and continuously validated for accurate pharmacology through Eurofins Discovery services with billions of data points screened
  • Convenient Assays – Complete set of stable cells and reagents to perform functional or binding cell-based assays
  • Versatile Use – Interrogate diverse MOAs with broad applications ideal for small molecules and biologics screening or profiling
  • Superior, Consistent Results – Robust assays with optimized reagents for sensitive detection and reproducible results

Consider Eurofins DiscoverX’s custom development capabilities for custom cell lines, assays, & enzyme development.

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Products

Product Types

  • Cell Line Assays – Complete cell-based assay kits that include a stable cell line, culture reagents for maintaining the cells in continuous culture, and detection reagents for running the assay. Learn more about Cell Line Assays in the next section.
  • KILR® Effector Cells – Single donor-derived human primary cytotoxic T cells to measure target cell death using antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and bi-specific antibody-mediated T Cell Redirection assays for screening, characterization, and QC lot release of antibody drugs. Learn more about KILR Effector Cells.
  • GPCR ChemiSCREEN™ & ChemiBRIGHT cAMP and Calcium Cells – GPCR stable cell lines and ready-to-assay cryo-preserved cells validated for cAMP accumulation and calcium flux applications and ideal for screening of agonists, antagonists and various modulators. Learn more about GPCR cAMP and Calcium Products.
  • PrecisION™ Cells - Stable cell lines and simple thaw-and-use (ready-to-assay) frozen cells for quick ion channel electrophysiological assessment without the need for cell culture. Learn more about Ion Channel Products.
  • Parental Cell Lines – Engineered cells to generate your own assays to measure internalization, β-arrestin recruitment, pharmacotrafficking, and translocation assays of your membrane protein of interest, as well as receptor-specific signaling pathway activation

Cell-based Assays — Engineered for Precision, Reproducibility, and Efficiency Across Functional and Binding Activities

From initial target screening to confirmatory studies to regulatory potency testing, cell line assay kits are optimized to reduce setup time, increase throughput, and deliver reproducible results — whether you are working at the bench or in a fully automated high-throughput screening (HTS) environment. If screening thousands of compounds, validating a lead series, or conducting regulatory potency testing, Eurofins DiscoverX cell line assay kits deliver the accuracy, sensitivity, and reproducibility required for high-stakes decision-making in drug discovery and development.

Key Features and Benefits

Cell line assay kits are manufactured under stringent quality control standards, ensuring reliability and reproducible results that you can trust in both basic research and regulated environments. These complete kits include two vials of stable cell line (or pool) for a specific target, along with cell culture materials, assay reagents, and detection reagent kits specific for that cell line – all conveniently packaged to ensure optimal performance in cell-based functional or binding assays across multiple applications.

The kits are designed to streamline workflows for basic research, drug discovery, and drug development by providing:
  • MOA-reflective, Stable Cell Lines – Continuous culture cell lines engineered for your target’s specific MOA responses; validated for high performance and reproducibility. Stable cell lines and cell pools have been extensively validated with billions of compounds over the past 25 years, leading to numerous commercialized therapies. Each cell line has confirmed stability beyond 10 passages and is usable for a variety of research, drug discovery, and development applications.
  • AssayComplete Cell Culture Reagents – Optimized reagents for preparation, maintenance, and optimal assay performance that ensure high cell viability, optimal cell morphology, and maximal assay performance with reproducible assay results
  • Sensitive Detection Reagents – Application-specific detection reagents for accurate measurement of functional or binding cell-based assays, compatible with 96- to 3456-well formats and full integration with automated HTS workflows
  • Standardized Protocols – To ensure consistent, reproducible results
  • Comprehensive Applications – Suitable for early discovery, lead validation, MOA characterization, QC lot-release testing, late-phase drug development, and more

Validated Performance Across Major Target Classes

Stable cell lines are engineered to reflect the biological MOA for each target, enabling highly predictive in vitro models. We cover a broad spectrum of drug target classes, including:
  • GPCRs
  • Kinases
  • Checkpoint Receptors
  • Cytokines and Interleukin Receptors
  • Nuclear Hormone Receptors and Epigenetic Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • And more

Applications Across Therapeutic Areas

Eurofins DiscoverX cell line assay kits are used by leading biopharmaceutical companies worldwide to support discovery and development in diverse therapeutic programs such as:
  • Oncology and Immuno-oncology – Kinases, cytokines, checkpoint inhibitors, immunomodulatory pathways, and more
  • Metabolic Disease – GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, AMY, and other GPCR-based obesity and diabetes programs
  • Inflammation and Autoimmune Disease – cytokine signaling, kinase modulation, and agnostic antibodies
  • Cardiovascular Disease – receptor and enzyme activity modulation
  • Neurological Disorders – GPCRs, ion channels, and CNS target validation

Target Classes and Applications

GPCR Cell Line Assays

  • GPCR Products – GPCR cell-based functional assays for detecting ligand binding, second messengers, β-arrestin recruitment, and GPCR internalization and trafficking. Learn more about GPCR products.
    • β-Arrestin Recruitment Assays – Universal G-protein independent cell-based assays to quantify GPCR activation based on the recruitment of β-arrestin. Ideal for ligand bias analysis, antagonist mode screening, and studying virtually any GPCR, including orphan receptors. Learn more about β-Arrestin Assays.
    • cAMP Assays – Homogeneous cAMP detection cell-based assays to characterize ligand pharmacology and obtain reproducible performance with large assay windows and broad sensitivity ranges. Learn more about cAMP Assays.
    • Calcium Assays – Cell-based assays to measure calcium mobilization in cell lines as a direct indication of GPCR activation or inhibition. Learn more about Calcium Assays.
    • GPCR Internalization Assays – Secondary, orthogonal screening cell-based assays for measuring GPCR desensitization and recycling, as well as uncovering novel classes of compound pharmacologies and identifying safer drugs without imaging or antibodies. Learn more about GPCR Internalization Assays.
    • GPCR Pharmacotrafficking Assays – Quantitative cell-based assays to identify small molecule pharmacochaperones that act as therapeutic agents to stabilize and correct disease-relevant mutant GPCRs, ion channels, or transporters. Learn more about GPCR Pharmacotrafficking Assays.

Kinase Cell Line Assays


Checkpoint Receptor Cell Line Assays


Cytokine Receptor Cell Line Assays


Epigenetic and Nuclear Protein Cell Line Assays


Applications for Multiple Target Classes

  • KILR® Cytotoxicity Assays – Functional, MOA-reflective cell-based cytotoxicity assays to measure target cell death in co-cultures using a simple, non-radioactive, and dye-free method that can be easily implemented in drug discovery through QC lot release programs
  • Signaling Reporter Assays – Functional, cell-based assays with a downstream read-out for screening molecules based on ligand activation or inhibition
  • InCELL Target Engagement Assays – Assess compound cell entry and protein target binding, and screen and rank inhibitors, all in the native cellular environment
  • SPRINTer Target Protein Degradation Assays – Quantify target protein turnover in native cellular context.
  • Translocation Assays – Cell-based translocation assays for analyzing the movement of proteins (including receptor internalization) to multiple membrane compartments within the cell
  • Signal Transduction Pathway Assays – Screen pathway-specific activation or inhibition
  • GPCR Pharmacotrafficking Assays – Quantitative cell-based assays for the identification of pharmacochaperones that rescue misfolded membrane proteins involved in mutation diseases