Tripos Sells Its Discovery R&D Unit

Tripos completed plans for its liquidation last week with the announcement that it will sell its Discovery Research business in Bude, England, to Provid Pharmaceuticals, in North Brunswick, N.J., for $2 million. Provid provides medicinal chemistry research services to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries and will, according to Tripos, retain the Bude staff. Late last year, Tripos announced the sale of its Discovery Informatics business in St. Louis to Vector Capital, in San Francisco, for $25.6 million. CEO John McAlister says the sale to Vector, which specializes in information technology buyouts, will allow the informatics business to operate as a private company "with greater access to growth capital."