September 2010 - Volume 1, Issue 1 (Other newsletters: October 2011, June 2011)
Good decisions...or just pretty pictures?
Welcome to our first eNewsletter!
You, like most other drug discovery scientists out there, probably have at least one bit of "data analysis" software on your desktop. But, which comes first, the decision about what to do or the plot that backs-up the decision? Terms like "decision support" are used to describe anything from databases, to LIMS systems, to data analysis packages; however there's clearly a big gap between making data available and visible, and genuinely helping to guide decisions based on the underlying information.
We'll be looking to explore this area more over the coming eNewsletters and in this first issue decided to start with an example case study of a fast-follower project where P450 metabolism predictions were used to guide a process of improving metabolic stability.
This has been a great first year for us; growing our customer base to 25 companies, being selected as a finalist at the 2010 Bio-IT World Expo, launching our on-line community and a new free product StarVue... along with a great new release of StarDrop. For more details see the news round-up below.
In future issues we'll be looking at more of the questions around drug discovery technology but I hope you enjoy this first issue!
Matt Segall, Optibrium CEO.
Breaking News
StarVue now available
Look at your molecules in a new way with our free desktop application... available to download now.
This free and easy-to-use desktop application is specifically designed for scientists who want a simple way to load and browse a set of compound structures and associated data. StarVue allows users to simply load, scroll through, sort and manage data in a new way, providing the ability to view and manipulate chemical structures.
Shining a light on...
StarDrop
Our primary product, StarDrop is an interactive platform that helps drug discovery scientists to guide decisions in the design and selection of high quality drug candidates with the aim of achieving an optimal balance of properties.
StarDrop combines predictive ADME models, P450 metabolism predictions and robust automatic QSAR model building with its own unique approaches such as the Glowing Molecule and Probabilistic Scoring. These quickly focus resources on chemistries with a high chance of success improving the efficiency and productivity of hit-to-lead and lead optimisation.
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE
Case Study...
Applying StarDrop as part of a "Fast-Follower" strategy:
Improving Metabolic Stability
We have developed a new case study that demonstrates how StarDrop can guide decisions to rapidly overcome liabilities and focus on chemistries with a good balance of properties.
This project's goal was to employ a 'fast-follower' strategy to improve on a competitor compound that had problems with poor oral bioavailability and short and variable half-life in man. In the initial phase of the project, our goals were to identify compounds which improved the in vitro half-life with respect to CYP3A4 metabolism by a factor of 2 while maintaining receptor IC50 of less than 200nM. Our software model was able to accurately discriminate between stable and unstable compounds and quickly identify four high quality lead series.
Click here to read the full case study
All our case studies demonstrate examples of StarDrop's capabilities. If you'd like to know more or arrange an on-site demonstration, contact us for more details.
Get Involved...
Join the Optibrium Community
The Optibrium community provides a forum for the wider drug discovery community to discuss approaches to drug optimisation and share ideas and best practices aimed at improving the productivity of drug discovery.
Whether you're a StarDrop or StarVue user or just want to know more, this community has been set up to provide you with direct access to the Optibrium support team and other users.
- Connect with other users
- Download StarDrop add-ins
- Ask questions in the forum
- Read articles and presentations
- Give your own comments on it all!
Round-up
- Founded in 2009 as a spin-out of BioFocus, we have enjoyed a successful first year, having grown our client base to 25 companies at last count.
- We were recently selected as a finalist at the 2010 North American Bio-IT World Expo for our flagship product StarDrop. It's just a pity we couldn't get there thanks to the volcano in Iceland! Nevertheless, we are very proud to be acknowledged as a key leader in the field of drug discovery, recognized for our achievements in optimising scientists' strategic decisions.
- We are also very excited to have just been awarded a proof of market grant for research into the next generation of technology. During 2010 we will continue to develop new drug discovery technologies that will optimize our clients' project strategy, reduce wasted molecules and experiments, shorten timelines and improve the productivity of your drug discovery...so watch this space for future announcements.
