A method of identifying inhibitors of the anti-apoptotic survival pathway in cancer cells is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of (a) exposing cultured wild-type cells to a candidate inhibitor at a predetermined concentratioh for a predetermined period of time and determining cell viability aftet the exposure to the candidate inhibitor； (b) exposing two or more cell lines of specifically MCL-1 or BCL-2 or BCL-X1 addicted cells to the candidate inhibitor at the predetermined concentration for the predetermined period of time and determining cell viability after the exposure to the candidate inhibitor, and (c) indentifying the candidate inhibitor as a MCL-1 or BCL-2 or BCL-X1 inhibitor if the cell viability in step (a) is significantly higher than the cell viability in step (b). The disclosed method provides a way to identify inhibitors which selectively inhibit specific members of the BCL-2 family (e.g., MCL-1) by screening two or more cell lines with addictions to different and specific members of the BCL-2 family of proteins.
