STOCKHOLM, Sweden and ST. LOUIS, Dec. 08, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Tripos, Inc. (Nasdaq:TRPS) and the Swedish biotech company Biovitrum today announced positive results from the companies' discovery research partnership. In less than three months, Tripos successfully designed and synthesized a lead series for one of Biovitrum's high-priority projects. The companies have also entered into a new collaborative software research program to develop improved tools for drug discovery. Tripos is a leading provider of drug discovery chemistry and informatics products, and Biovitrum is one of Europe's largest biotechnology companies active in the research and development of small molecule drugs and recombinant protein drugs
The acquisition of new LeadQuest(r) compounds to augment Biovitrum's existing screening library, coupled with the employment of Tripos' proprietary software programs -- ChemSpace(r) and SARNavigator(tm) -- allowed the companies to identify and optimize two promising lead series for follow-up. Of particular note, Tripos was able to optimize on physical properties as well as activity of the compounds, and ultimately synthesize an exclusive library for Biovitrum -- all within 12 weeks.
"We are very pleased with both the scientific quality of our collaboration with Tripos and its responsiveness to our needs," said Charles Hedgecock, director of Medicinal Chemistry at Biovitrum. "We are particularly impressed by Tripos' informatics-driven data analysis and library design capabilities, as well as its ability to develop scientifically innovative software offerings."
The companies will next embark on an informatics technology project to enhance the GASPTM software tool, which applies a genetic algorithm to a set of compounds active against a common target. Molecules that match the models created in GASP are more likely to be active, making this an important tool to identify other active structural series in large corporate databases.
"Our combined chemistry and informatics capabilities expedite the drug discovery process, in terms of reducing the time, expense and patent risk involved in developing new drugs," said Dr. Peter Hecht, senior vice president of Discovery Research Operations at Tripos. "We are excited about our future collaboration with Biovitrum as we together seek to improve these critical technologies. This is an excellent example of what we hope to achieve in each of our client partnerships."
About Biovitrum
Biovitrum is a privately held biotech company active in the discovery and development of drugs to treat metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, and is in the process of development and contract manufacturing of protein therapeutics. The company has strong intellectual property and technology platforms, with a number of compounds in pre-clinical and clinical development. Biovitrum is one of the largest biotech companies in Europe with more than 550 employees. Annual revenues, including royalties and contract service fees, finance a major part of the annual research budget. For more information, please visit Biovitrum's website at http://www.biovitrum.com.
About Tripos, Inc.
Tripos (Nasdaq:TRPS) combines leading-edge technology and innovative science to deliver consistently superior chemistry-research products and services for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other life science industries. Tripos partners with clients to accelerate and improve the creation of life-enhancing products. Within Tripos' Discovery Informatics (DI) business, the company provides software products and consulting services to develop, manage, analyze and share critical drug discovery information. Within Tripos' Discovery Research (DR) business, Tripos' medicinal chemists and research scientists partner directly with clients in their research initiatives, leveraging state-of-the-art information technologies and research facilities. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., Tripos spans the world with global research operations and an international client base. Further information on Tripos can be found at http://www.tripos.com
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