Analytik NEWS
Online Laboratory Magazine
03/29/2024

08/19/2009

Sigma-Aldrich Acquires ChemNavigator, Inc.

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Sigma-Aldrich announced the acquisition of cheminformatics company, ChemNavigator .com, Incorporated, a provider of leading discovery research informatics software tools used for design, selection and procurement of chemical compound libraries. The acquisition links ChemNavigator's comprehensive suite of virtual screening and selection tools and industry-leading searchable database of over 60 million compounds with Sigma-Aldrich's core strengths in chemical compound management, procurement and global distribution to accelerate discovery research programs.

Early in the drug discovery process, researchers work at the molecular level to perform structure activity relationship (SAR) studies, seeking molecular patterns that may exhibit enhanced biological activity against disease targets. This virtual discovery process typically leads to a selection of compounds that can be compiled into target libraries based upon the identified SARs and molecular designs. Target compounds must then be identified from among the millions of potentially available chemicals and procured for actual testing of their biological properties.

ChemNavigator provides medicinal, computational and synthetic chemists with a comprehensive set of virtual screening tools and products that allows them to channel their chemical designs toward sets of commercially available compounds. The company's powerful sourcing database, the iResearch Library(TM), contains millions of chemical products available for selection and purchase, ranging from drug-like compounds for testing in molecular screening to synthetic building blocks used in chemical synthesis. The acquisition aligns the global procurement and distribution capabilities of Sigma-Aldrich's Discovery(CPR) service with ChemNavigator's front-end cheminformatics research tools. These newly combined capabilities will provide customers with the complete chemical discovery offer, from compound selection to delivery of custom packaged chemical building blocks and screening libraries ready for testing.

"ChemNavigator is well-recognized for its fast and efficient virtual discovery tools and for its extensive database of chemical compounds," said Dr. Ilya Koltover, Manager, Business Development, for Sigma-Aldrich. "This acquisition enables Sigma-Aldrich to provide the research community with an efficient, seamless discovery offer that extends from virtual selection to compound delivery."

"Joining Sigma-Aldrich brings ChemNavigator's database and cheminformatics tools to a broader scientific audience and will allow scientists to utilize the full potential of both companies' expertise to accelerate their research," said Scott Hutton, President and Chief Executive Officer, ChemNavigator.

"The ChemNavigator acquisition demonstrates Sigma-Aldrich's commitment to continually bringing innovative technologies and efficient solutions to our global pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers," said Dr. Frank Wicks, President, Sigma-Aldrich Research Essentials and Research Specialties.

Source: Sigma Aldrich Corp.