LION sells compound library to Norak

LION bioscience of Germany has sold a compound library consisting of more than 500,000 diverse compounds to US company Norak Biosciences.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but LION's divestment comes at a time when the firm is reporting tumbling profits as reduced R&D spending by the life sciences industry and the impact of weak currencies hit sales.

LION originally acquired the library through its 2001 acquisition of Trega Biosciences of San Diego, USA. The ChemFolio library of information-enhanced small molecules was designed to facilitate the identification and optimisation of drug candidates. Trega has sold various ChemFolio sub-libraries to more than 20 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide.

Norak will combine the ChemFolio library with its existing libraries of more than 350,000 diverse and focused compounds to create a screening library of over 800,000 compounds.

The company plans to screen this library against its own G protein-coupled receptors discovered using its Transfluor bioassay technology, as well as its automated high-throughput screening instruments, in a search for synthetic compounds suitable as drug candidates in the areas of the central nervous system, pain, and cardiovascular and inflammatory disease.

Last week, LION posted turnover of €3.9 million versus €7.3 million during the like, year-earlier period, while the net loss was narrowed by 68 per cent to €6.1 million, thanks largely to a decline in write offs and heavy cost cutting. Total costs and expenditure totalled €9.2 million, down from €19.8 million a year earlier.