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StarDrop Developers Acquire Software from BioFocus DPI, Launch New Firm

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Developers of the StarDrop drug-optimization software package have formed a new company called Optibrium to take over the business from BioFocus DPI, a division of Galapagos.

StarDrop, used to guide compound selection in drug discovery, was originally developed at Inpharmatica, which Galapagos acquired in 2006 and folded into its BioFocus DPI division [BioInform 12-08-06].

In a statement issued this week, Optibrium said that founders Matt Segall and Ed Champness were "responsible for the development of StarDrop from 2003 and, prior to this, research and development of related technologies since 1994."

Segall and Champness formed Optibrium, based in Cambridge, UK, earlier this year in order to acquire the StarDrop software business from BioFocus. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Optibrium said that it is "committed to building on the success of StarDrop by developing a next generation of tools to guide decisions and optimize the drug discovery process."

Rob Arnold of Clasemont Limited, which acted as financial adviser to Optibrium, said in a statement that “there was a will on both sides for Matt and his team to achieve independence as the best way to support StarDrop’s customers and to build for the future.”

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