Tripos Awarded NIH Grant to Develop Screening and Optimization Technology for Drug Discovery
Tripos, Inc. announced that it has been awarded an $860,000 phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Tripos will use this two-year grant to create a full-scale library design system for use directly by medicinal chemists at its research facility, Tripos Discovery Research Centre.
Based on topomer technology, this proprietary system will have the capacity to search a million times more structures than previously possible, providing a richer universe of synthetic chemistries. Scientists will be able to extend their knowledge of similar molecules, resulting in improved success rates for all stages of drug discovery. This system also has the potential to be licensed to other drug discovery research operations under the appropriate technology transfer agreements.
"The award of this grant opens up the next phase of a 10-year, in-house research effort," said Dr. Richard D. Cramer, senior vice president of science and chief science officer for Tripos. "The most important advantages offered by topomers are efficacy and speed, two critical considerations in drug discovery research. Tripos has incorporated this technology into its lead optimization collaborations and is able to offer its partners better success rates and an improved cost-to-benefit ratio as a result."
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