SBI offers the first practical shortcut between genomics and drug development that is fully integrated with pharmaceutical structure-based drug design. Partnership opportunities include:

Lead Discovery: Partnerships with companies aimed at discovering small molecule non-peptide lead compounds based upon protein structural information already contained within the SBdBase^TM. As of June 1999, the SBdBase^TM includes information on all known members of 175 protein superfamilies regarded by industry scientists to be rich sources of new drug targets. Proprietary structural information continues to be added to the SBdBase^TM at a very high rate. Proprietary sequences provided by third party collaborators are handled on a confidential, exclusive, and proprietary basis.

Structural Pharmacogenomics: Through collaboration with Quest Diagnostics, SBI has developed 3-D structural databases of genetic polymorphisms for a number of important disease targets. These databases are prototypic of an eventually comprehensive set of protein structure databases covering 3-D structural variants (collectively the SVdBases^®) defined by genetic polymorphisms for interesting drug targets. Structural pharmacogenomics databases can be generated on a proprietary basis through corporate partnering arrangements. SBI is generating software tools to permit automated comparison of 3-D protein structures on a massive scale for use with both the SBdBase^TM and the target-specific SVdBases^®. (SVdBases^® for HIV/RT, HIV/Protease, HIV/Integrase, p-53, BTK, and cytochrome P-450 are currently available to collaborators on a selected basis.)

Disease Genomics/Chemical Knockouts: Partnerships aimed at uncovering gene function. SBI provides sets of small molecules that modify gene product function for use as probes to accelerate functional analysis of the new gene products and subsequently define effective intervention points within complex disease pathways.

Technology Enablement: Other partnerships based on using structural bioinformatics to inform the design of combinatorial libraries, accelerate the resolution of difficult protein structures by non-computational means, and clarify the principles of protein interactions not only with drugs but other cellular elements as well.