Irori, Afferent Link Solid Phase Synthesis Products with Combinational Chemistry Software

Irori (La Jolla, CA), a subsidiary of Discovery Partners International and a provider of drug discovery technologies, has signed a collaboration agreement with Afferent Systems Inc. (San Francisco), a provider of combinatorial chemistry design software. Under the terms of the agreement, Irori will immediately begin the distribution of Afferent software products. Afferent has developed an interface that links their software to the Irori solid phase synthesis products. The two companies will together define and develop future chemical synthesis and informatics technology and products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Irori's technology, called AccuTag, uses their novel "directed sorting" process and RF labeled microreactors to synthesize discrete compounds using a modification of the split-and-pool approach. It provides researchers with the means to synthesize large numbers of discrete compounds in quantities large enough to be useful for analytical testing and biological screenings.

Afferent Systems Inc. develops, markets, and supports software systems that aid bench chemists and research IT staff in combinatorial chemistry. The company provides an integrated software solution for combinatorial chemistry informatics, including product structure generation, storage, and access; sample tracking and analytical information management; experiment planning and instrument control, all optionally using an Oracle-based enterprise-wide database.

"Many of our customers are already using both the Afferent and Irori products and have expressed an interest in having the products seamlessly linked," said Richard K. Brown, VP of business development at Irori. Brown believes that linking these two leading combinatorial chemistry products also provides a natural basis for technology and product enhancement and expansion.

Irori is a developer of combinatorial chemistry systems designed to accelerate drug discovery and the identification of novel compounds.

For more information: Richard K. Brown, VP of Business Development, Irori, 11149 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037. Tel: 619-546-1300. Fax: 619-546-3083. Email: info@irori.com.