Deltagen to acquire B-MS research labs

Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to sell its California-based research facilities, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Research Labs (BMSPRL), to Deltagen, of Redwood City, California. The labs, formerly known as CombiChem, were acquired by B-MS in October 2001 as part of its purchase of DuPont Pharmaceuticals.

The acquisition will provide Deltagen with an established and well-recognised small molecule drug discovery capability and will significantly advance its efforts in using its validated targets for identifying lead candidate compounds for drug development.

The company plans to select a number of targets for compound development in 2002 from its internal in vivo mammalian technology platform, with particular emphasis on cancer, metabolic disorders and inflammatory diseases.

'Having developed a powerful systems biology approach to exploit the genome, our efforts are clearly coming to fruition and have placed the company in what we believe is a "target rich" position,' said Dr William Matthews, ceo at Deltagen. 'Adding a company of BMSPRL's calibre provides us with a wonderful opportunity to further advance our internal drug discovery efforts.'

BMSPRL's state-of-the-art facilities in San Diego include 22 fully-equipped chemistry laboratories and a new biology facility, and employ 70 scientists.