Over the past 30 years, Dr. Houghten has focused his research toward the development and use of a series of interlocking and powerful hit/lead/probe discovery platform techniques (parallel synthesis techniques and combinatorial chemistry). He has conceived, patented, and developed novel and far/wide ranging approaches for use in existing drug discovery problems. In collaboration with long term scientific associates, he has developed technologies with the capability to very rapidly synthesize and screen tens of millions of compounds without the need for changes in the screening assay or the use of robotic high throughput research products. Dr. Houghten has over 465 peer-reviewed publications ,151 book chapters and proceedings, and 90 issued US patents.

Dr. Houghten’s lab is focused on mixture-based chemical libraries for identification of highly active opiate related analgesics at the Mu, Delta, and Kappa receptors. Also, the identification of synergistic compounds that increase or change existing opiate pain relief compounds, ideally not active at the three opiate receptors in themselves, but enhancing the activity of existing newly discovered compounds.