A SERVICE to enable researchers to outsource computational chemistry has been introduced by Cresset, a software company. Its CompChem on Demand offering supplies computational chemistry services on a day-by-day basis, without long-term commitment.
Users of the service can purchase service days in advance, at a discounted on the daily rate, and use these as needed. Cresset’s service team, under director of consulting Dr Martin Slater, offers a range of skills including the design of both large and small molecular libraries, lead optimisation, and structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis.
The services provided will make use of Cresset’s commercially-available software, if appropriate, as well as the company’s in-house proprietary code and applications.
“The financial reality of drug discovery demands that researchers minimise costs while maximising throughput and efficiency”, said Dr Robert Scoffin, CEO of Cresset. “Through our on-demand consulting service, customers are able to match their specific needs more closely to their financial situation”.
Cresset’s website is currently (December 2011) offering CompChem days at £995 (US$1495) each, which it says is over 30 percent off the regular daily rate. Among the suggested uses of its service, the company includes a conformation search and a 3D alignment to template, an initial SAR analysis, the conformational analysis of a 2D structure, and the generation of a plausible 3D alignment template from three or more 2D structures.