Cambridge Discovery Chemistry Limited

CAMBRIDGE COMBINATORIAL ACQUIRES NEW PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY

Cambridge Combinatorial Limited, the combinatorial chemistry company specialising in the design, production and supply of compounds for the drug discovery industry, has acquired exclusive world-wide patent rights to the unique laminar combinatorial chemistry technology from Pfizer.

Cambridge Combinatorial was established in February 1997 by Dr Allan Marchington and Dr Ryszard Kobylecki, Chief Executive and Technical Director, respectively, of the new company. The unique laminar technology, initially developed at Pfizer, allows the production of thousands of pure chemical compounds, as single entities of known structure in milligram quantities. The compounds are synthesised to the customers' individual needs and are designed to the unique requirements of the medicinal chemist.

Cambridge Combinatorial reserves all rights to commercially develop and exploit the laminar technology in the deal signed by both companies, for an undisclosed sum. Pfizer retains the right to use the technology for research purposes.

Dr Allan Marchington, Cambridge Combinatorial's Chief Executive said:

"We are thrilled to have access to this leading technology and to have Ryszard and our research team taking this discovery to the next level. We will continue to work closely with Pfizer on this project and look forward to providing the best possible service to our growing customer base."

Notes to editors

Cambridge Combinatorial Limited
Cambridge Combinatorial Limited specialises in the design, production and supply of chemical compounds for the drug discovery industry. Headed by Dr Allan Marchington, Chief Executive, and Dr Ryszard Kobylecki, Technical Director, both ex-Pfizer medicinal chemists, the company was established with a Ł2 million investment from Oxford Molecular Group, the management, founding scientists and the University of Cambridge (through its intellectual property company, Cambridge University Technical Services Limited). The new Cambridge-based company employs recent advances in combinatorial chemistry, methods which allow the rapid synthesis of many thousands of diverse compounds, to supply the pharmaceutical and emerging biotechnology industries with a pool of structures from which active compounds can be identified.