Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors. The main types of NCDs are degenerative in nature and include cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes. These four groups of diseases account for over 80% of all deaths worldwide. The complexity of these diseases limits the efficacy of traditional drugs and urges the development of innovative, biological therapies able to interfere with complex biological processes. Screening strategies, and in particular high throughout screening based on functional readouts, are emerging as precious tools to identify the most potent molecules in a specific biological context, paving the way to the development of innovative biotherapeutics for the treatment of chronic, degenerative, NCDs.