Accelrys ($ACCL) has continued its push into drug production software by snapping up Aegis Analytical for $30 million in cash. The takeover comes 10 months after Accelrys set the tone for 2012 by moving into QA/QC software with the $35 million buyout of VelQuest.
Acquisition of Aegis' aggregation and analysis software will allow Accelrys' clients to pull in and contextualize production data from disparate sources. The software--called Discoverant--gives companies ready access to manufacturing, quality and product development data from across their network of labs and plants.
Aggregation of production data could help companies address oversight pressures caused by the triple whammy of more stringent regulators, globalization and outsourcing. "Without visibility into their far-reaching global operations, companies risk compromising the quality of their products and noncompliance with regulatory requirements," Accelrys' executive Ken Rapp said.
Discoverant will slot in alongside the VelQuest lab execution and batch record tools that form the backbone of Accelrys' new process management and compliance suite. Accelrys is pitching the suite as the framework for moving to the data-driven manufacturing methods envisaged by QbD and ICH.
Data collected by Accelrys' tools--such as its Electronic Lab Notebook--and other external sources is gathered by Discoverant for analysis to improve process understanding. Armed with this insight, manufacturers can try to optimize production processes and cut the risk of tech transfer when scaling up output.
Work will now begin on integrating Discoverant. Accelrys expects to retain Aegis employees to help with the work, with CFO Michael Piraino telling Xconomy "the idea is to keep the business in Boulder and fairly intact." Colorado-based Aegis employs close to 40 people who will now join the swelling ranks at Accelrys. Since merging with Symyx Technologies in 2010, Accelrys has made multiple acquisitions to add manufacturing and drug discovery software to its portfolio.
- check out the press release
- here's the Xconomy article