Welcome to the PANAChE Database of the Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program


This resource contains public and non-confidential chemical structures and biological data for compounds that have been screened for efficacy and tolerability in animal models of epilepsy and related seizure disorders as part of the Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP) at the Division of Translational Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

ETSP is the new name for the program known for approximately forty years as the Anticonvulsant Screening Program (ASP). The program was renamed in 2015 to reflect the emphasis on identifying differentiated agents to address the unmet medical needs of epilepsy, specifically drug resistant epilepsy, special epilepsy populations, disease prevention and modification. Please refer to the ETSP public website for further detailed information about the ETSP including applying to the program.

Compounds are being added to the PANAChE database on an ongoing basis. It is important to emphasize that compounds submitted to the ETSP are evaluated under a confidentiality agreement between NINDS and the participant. As such, unpublished compound structures and biological data generated by the ETSP are included in PANAChE only with written permission from the program participant.

PANAChE has a SEARCH function, which allows you to search the PANAChE database for information on specific compounds, compound classes, etc. When a specific compound is identified, links in the data summary can then be followed to obtain more detailed information about results in specific tests, including access to the raw data. The value of PANAChE as a drug discovery tool will increase as more compounds are added to the database over time.

In addition to compound information, PANAChE contains descriptions of the current and past assays used to test compounds in the ETSP. PANAChE also describes any flowcharts that are used to guide testing of compounds through a sequence of assays that have a specific goal, an example being the ETSP Drug Resistant Epilepsy flowchart. In some cases, assays may be used on a stand-alone basis.

Given the more than 40 years history of the program, the models in use have evolved over time and are captured in PANAChE under two broad categories. CURRENT MODELS describe models and flowchart(s) that are currently used in the program. LEGACY MODELS describe models that have been used previously in the ETSP but are presently not part of our core testing strategy. The overall intent is to provide accurate information on tests used for compounds in PANAChE, regardless of when that testing occurred.