Pharma and cosmetics multinational selects BioAscent as central hub for storage and logistics of extensive plant natural extracts collection
NEWHOUSE, UK (19 January 2015): BioAscent Discovery (www.bioascent.com), announces a new collaboration with pharmaceutical and cosmetics multinational, Pierre Fabre, as part of an open innovation initiative promoting the use of natural products in life sciences. Pierre Fabre’s library of ca. 15,000 plant extracts is the largest private collection of its type in the world. BioAscent’s state-of-the-art compound management and logistics facility is ideally placed to share out such an extract library, with in-house expertise to store, process and distribute theses unique samples with care and efficiency. In addition, BioAscent will seek out new open innovation project partners, and as the central hub of the project, will supply all samples pre-processed and HTS-formatted, enabling partners to screen the library easily, with minimal in-house resource.
Natural products are a largely untapped resource, not only in pharma, but in animal health, agrochemistry, and nutrition among others. Pierre Fabre’s collection consists of 15,000 HTS-formatted samples from a biodiverse range of 7,000 plant species, all of which are fully characterised with legal certainty of origin. The availability of this biodiverse collection through BioAscent ensures that open innovation partners will have rapid and easy access to all samples. In addition to Pierre Fabre’s 50 years of experience with natural products, participating organisations will benefit from BioAscent’s expertise in the outsourced management of sample libraries, such as the European Lead Factory’s 500,000 sample-strong collection, for which it formats and distributes samples between multiple pharma companies and academic institutions. For the Pierre Fabre natural products collection, BioAscent will handle secure storage and all processing and logistics, supplying the samples in a ready-to-use HTS-format. This will enable organisations to screen Pierre Fabre’s library without the need for in-house sample storage or expertise, saving time and cost. BioAscent will also broker new partnerships for the initiative, expanding its reach into new areas and fostering more collaborations between life science organisations.
Dr Simon MacKenzie, CEO of BioAscent, commented: “As a state-of-the-art facility, with extensive experience of specialised compound collections, BioAscent is an ideal hub for Pierre Fabre’s collection. Not only do we have the capacity, capability, and expertise to manage, prepare, and distribute the natural plant extract library, but we are also in a prime position to identify and pursue new partners for this and other open innovation initiatives.This will open up Pierre Fabre’s extensive and unique collection to organisations in a variety of areas in life science research.”
For more information please visit the BioAscent website at www.bioascent.com and http://nature-open-library-pierre-fabre.force.com
Editors’ Notes
BioAscent Discovery Ltd.
Founded in 2013, BioAscent is the rejuvenated former Merck Sharpe and Dohme (MSD) automated compound management and logistics facility, based within the BioCity Scotland site at Newhouse, Scotland, UK. The company consists of a state-of-the-art facility run by a range of highly skilled management, scientists, and technicians with extensive experience in managing specialist compound libraries. BioAscent was selected as the Centre of Excellence for the compound management activities of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)-funded European Lead Factory, providing secure storage and logistics of the 500,000 sample collection to all partners. BioAscent is also a broker supplying access to specialized sample collections to organisations worldwide.
