MilliporeSigma and ACD/Labs in collaboration to 'shape the future of analytical testing'

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Informatics software developer supporting R&D, ACD/Labs, has formed a collaboration with MilliporeSigma, the US and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA.

MilliporeSigma’s first release version of its digital reference material (dRM) ChemisTwin provides scientists in quality control labs with an automated structure verification tool by NMR.  NMR is an abbreviation for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. An NMR instrument allows the molecular structure of a material to be analyzed by observing and measuring the interaction of nuclear spins when placed in a powerful magnetic field.

“With increasing demand for digital solutions in life sciences, we're proud to provide enabling technologies for MilliporeSigma’s digital reference material ChemisTwin platform,” said Andrew Anderson, vice president of informatics and innovation strategy at ACD/Labs.

“Our partnership will empower scientists with a digital means for effective and robust structure verification.”

The tool combines ACD/Labs’ automated structure verification and prediction capabilities with Millipore Sigma’s expertise in reference materials manufacturing.

Coralie Leonard is ChemisTwin project lead and digital business model developer, analytical chemistry at MilliporeSigma.

“Our purpose is to shape the future of analytical testing, to make research and quality control in laboratories more efficient and sustainable. The launch of the ChemisTwin platform is a breakthrough innovation in our journey toward this objective, ultimately impacting life and health with science.

“We have chosen to partner with ACD/Labs not only for their strong expertise in NMR spectral prediction and comparison but also because they share our vision and passion to be a driver of industry change.”

ACD/Labs says it helps customers in more than 94 countries around the world assemble digitized analytical, structural, and molecular information for effective decision-making, problem-solving, and product lifecycle control.

The company explains its technologies enable the automation of molecular characterization and facilitate chemically intelligent knowledge management.

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the US and Canada, has more than 28,000 employees and more than 55 total manufacturing and testing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products focused on scientific discovery, biomanufacturing, and testing services.

Also, MilliporeSigma recently launched its AIDDISON drug discovery software, the first software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that aims to bridge the gap between virtual molecule design and real-world manufacturability through Synthia retrosynthesis software application programming interface (API) integration. 

It combines generative AI, machine learning, and computer-aided drug design to speed up drug development. Trained on more than two decades of experimentally validated datasets from pharmaceutical R&D, the SaaS software identifies compounds from over 60 billion possibilities that have key properties of a successful drug, such as non-toxicity, solubility, and stability in the body. The platform then proposes ways to best synthesize these drugs.

“With millions of people waiting for the approval of new medicines, bringing a drug to market, still takes on average, more than 10 years and costs over US$2 billion,” said Karen Madden, chief technology officer, Life Science business sector of Merck.

“Our platform enables any laboratory to count on generative AI to identify the most suitable drug-like candidates in a vast chemical space. This helps ensure the optimal chemical synthesis route for the development of a target molecule in the most sustainable way possible.”