Indian Firms Expand Discovery Services

Two Indian contract research firms are adding drug discovery services through partnerships with U.S. companies. Syngene International will work with San Diego's Sapient Discovery to offer protein structure-based drug discovery and optimization services. Using X-ray crystallography and proprietary algorithms, Sapient defines the molecular structure of potential drug targets from gene sequence information. Jubilant Biosys, meanwhile, is working with BioLeap of New Hope, Pa., to offer computational fragment-based drug design. The partners say BioLeap's in silico technology is faster and cheaper than traditional screening methods.