Tripos awarded patent for combinatorial library design technology

Optimizes identification of compounds for drug discovery research

Tripos Inc. (St. Louis) today announced that it has been awarded a patent entitled "Method for Selecting an Optimally Diverse Library of Small Molecules Based on Validated Molecular Structure Descriptors" by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent, number 6,185,506, covers novel computational methodologies for the design of combinatorial compound libraries to improve the productivity and cost-effectiveness of the drug discovery process. The newly patented technology capitalizes on the nature of combinatorial libraries themselves, by considering each library member as a collection of chemical building blocks or fragments. This enables the Tripos scientist to optimize the structural diversity of chemical compounds within combinatorial libraries, thereby maximizing the likelihood that the compounds will prove to be useful drug leads.

"Tripos scientists now have a method for validating those molecular structural descriptors necessary for the design of an optimal combinatorial screening library," commented David Patterson, senior fellow for Tripos, the chief inventor of the descriptor validation methodology. "This new technology is proving especially useful in our collaborations with our discovery research customers for streamlining the drug lead identification process because it defines smaller, more cost-effective combinatorial libraries that still maintain the structural variation of much larger collections of chemical compounds."

"Tripos' novel method of designing combinatorial libraries using validated molecular descriptors, including newly discovered topomer descriptors that identify compounds exhibiting similar biological characteristics, is now recognized by the patent award. This patent substantiates Tripos' theory that application of validated descriptors within its LeadHopping technologies is an effective and efficient way to explore vast libraries for compounds with useful biological activity," stated Richard Cramer, Tripos' senior vice president, science, and chief scientific officer.

"Tripos continues to build upon its longstanding record of scientific innovation in computational chemistry," said John P. McAlister, president and CEO of Tripos. "This patented technology exemplifies the practical application of "in-silico" research using computer-based methodologies to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the drug discovery process. It provides the foundation for our research service agreements with our pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Another application is for the design of Tripos' value-added LeadQuest screening libraries that enhance the identification and optimization of novel drug leads for our customers and collaborators."

About Tripos Inc.
Tripos is a leading provider of discovery research software and services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other life science companies worldwide. The company's products and services aim to greatly accelerate the discovery of new drugs while reducing the costs associated with the drug discovery process. Tripos products include proprietary discovery software tools to manage, analyze and share biological and chemical information; systems integration services; diverse chemical libraries; and contract research for the discovery, synthesis, characterization and optimization of new chemical compounds that are active in biological systems. This press release and further information about Tripos can be found at www.tripos.com.

Source: Tripos Inc.