LA JOLLA, Calif.--A new company launched by Riccardo Pigliucci, former CEO of Life Sciences International and past president and chief operating officer of Perkin-Elmer, claimed it will create a new paradigm for serving the drug discovery needs of pharmaceutical companies. Discovery Partners International says it will form partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to foster the development of new technologies.
Pigliucci commented, "Most drug discovery platform companies have turned to developing their own lead compounds. We'll maintain our focus on the development of novel drug discovery platforms through funding or acquisition of companies with leading-edge or complementary technologies."
The first businesses brought under Discovery Partners' umbrella are Irori, a combinatorial chemistry company, and ChemRx, a new firm providing primary lead discovery chemical libraries and lead-optimization services using Irori's technology. Platform and service companies focusing on bioinformatics and screening technologies will be added in the near future, Pigliucci asserted.