GeneGo, Elsevier MDL to collaborate

ST. JOSEPH, Mich.—Bioinformatics specialists GeneGo and Elsevier MDL announced that plan to seamlessly integrate the former's data mining platform MetaCore 4.0 with the latter's suite of databases through its DiscoveryGate platform. The combination should allow researchers to identify drug candidates from pathway analyses and understand the biological and biochemical characteristics of the proposed compounds within a single application interface.

According to a January 2006 report by Frost & Sullivan, the $60-million computational biology market is expected to grow by 43.5 percent (CAGR) from 2004-2011, surpassing $750 million. As Frost analyst Raghavendra Chitta explains, the costs associated with implementation of these systems is expected to be offset by the elimination of false leads earlier in the discovery process, saving companies $200-$300 million per program.

"Although pathways and network analysis of bioactive compounds is a common practice in MetaCore, we partnered with Elsevier MDL for in depth coverage of literature and patent-derived information relevant for compounds," explained Julie Bryant, GeneGo VP. "Integration with the Elsevier MDL chemistry space opens up new applications for our products in medicinal chemistry, including high-throughput and high-content screening, hit selection and validation, lead development programs and chemogenomics."