WuXi AppTec adopts Elsevier tech, gains access to 500m experimental details

12-Jun-2016 - Last updated on 13-Jun-2016 at 15:31 GMT

Elsevier’s solutions extract and index more than 500m experimental details for use by WuXi AppTec drug developers. (Image: iStock/agsandrew)

WuXi AppTec has adopted Elsevier’s technology as the company begins to focus less on point solutions, and more on provider partnerships, says VP of procurement.

According to the information products and services company, Elsevier, the deal sets the foundations for a long-term strategic and collaborative relationship.

Per the agreement, WuXi will use Elsevier’s Reaxys and Reaxys Medicinal Chemistry to support its synthetic chemistry and medicinal chemistry research. More than 3,500 chemists will use the tools.

"The Reaxys tools will aid WuXi’s researchers particularly in the early phases of R&D, by allowing them to rapidly identify required pieces of data efficiently – supporting more confident hit identification, lead optimization and synthesis planning. Further, the Reaxys tools are fully interoperable and integrate with the existing environment of tools and systems, saving time and reducing the risk of inconsistencies," Timothy Hoctor, VP Professional Services, Elsevier R&D Solutions, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.

According to the company, the five-year agreement established between the companies will also move WuXi into newer areas, such as medicinal chemistry. The agreement consists of an unlimited license for both solutions that covers all WuXi sites, which span more than 3m square feet of laboratory and manufacturing space.

“As we expand our offerings, our focus is less on point solutions, and more on partnership with providers who can offer complete solutions that support a broad set of needs for our researchers across the organization,” said Mr Lucent Lu, VP Procurement of Wuxi Apptec.

Specifically, the solutions extract and index more than 500m experimental details from more than 16,000 periodicals. Both solutions also integrate other vender technology, allowing WuXi to incorporate its own data and content.

Additionally, Hoctor explained that the solutions are designed to work the way chemists think, thus giving "intuitive access to chemistry data."

He added, "Elsevier’s extensive heritage and expertise in organizing data through established taxonomies makes the difference; this means that the huge amounts of data the Reaxys solutions hold are easily searchable, providing the shortest path from the chemistry question asked, to insight."