Press releases

Transformative new scientific information capabilities combine an unparalleled collection of curated science data with advanced predictive models to accelerate early-stage drug discovery innovation

Columbus, OH, May 21, 2024 -- Today, CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific knowledge management, announced the launch of the CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform™, a comprehensive life sciences offering that will reveal novel insights through unprecedented data connections. The new offering provides drug discovery scientists with the ability to explore known and predicted data, find answers to their questions quickly and reliably, and accelerate the pre-clinical drug discovery process.

“As the volume and complexity of scientific content grows, drug discovery scientists spend too much time combing through data,” said Manuel Guzman, President, CAS. “R&D organizations that partner with CAS will be empowered to navigate the overwhelming amount of scientific information and get the insights they need to drive innovative, life-saving drugs to market faster.”

The CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform taps into science content through the CAS Content Collection™, which includes the world’s most comprehensive, highly structured, human-curated scientific data. In addition to connecting biological sequences, structure-activity relationship data, ADME-measurement, and toxicity to its substance collection, CAS more recently incorporated biomarker data linked to diseases and drugs. CAS leveraged Chemotargets CLARITY® as the technological foundation for the CAS BioFinder™ predictive capabilities and analytics.

Pairing this wealth of scientific knowledge with proprietary AI-powered technology and an intuitive, visual interface, the CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform is built to serve drug discovery scientists in their research just like CAS SciFinder®has served chemists and related scientists for decades.

Through the CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform, users can explore empirical data and run predictive models to understand the likely effects of novel molecules. The new platform also includes API access to bioactivity and biomarker data that scientists will be able to process using their in-house models. Over time, users will benefit from fully integrated innovation capabilities that span their spectrum of data, research, and workflow needs.

To ensure that the CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform addresses drug discovery scientists’ most salient pain points, last year CAS assembled a Life Sciences Industry Advisory Board composed of global thought leaders from commercial, academic, and government organizations who have guided the organization’s journey into life sciences. An early version of CAS BioFinder was also shared with several industry partners whose feedback has helped make the solution strong from the start.

“Our mission with the CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform is to help drug discovery scientists in early stages advance their research more efficiently and confidently so that they can solve the types of therapeutic problems that made them excited to start their research in the first place,” said Dr. Michael Dennis, Chief Scientific Officer, CAS. “The solution enables scientists to find, compile, understand, and trust the scientific content they need, to use it seamlessly to run analytical and predictive models, and to discover the answers and insights to ultimately propel their research, so the world doesn’t have to wait for the next drug discovery breakthrough.”

The CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform will continue to evolve and be enhanced to meet the needs of drug discovery scientists.

Learn more about the CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform at https://www.cas.org/solutions/biofinder-discovery-platform.

About CAS

CAS connects the world's scientific knowledge to accelerate breakthroughs that improve lives. We empower global innovators to efficiently navigate today’s complex data landscape and make confident decisions in each phase of the innovation journey. As a specialist in scientific knowledge management, our team builds the largest authoritative collection of human-curated scientific data in the world and provides essential information solutions, services, and expertise. Scientists, patent professionals, and business leaders across industries rely on CAS to help them uncover opportunities, mitigate risks, and unlock shared knowledge so they can get from inspiration to innovation faster. CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society. Connect with us at cas.org.

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