The Scripps Research Institute, an independent, not-for-profit organization focused on research in the biomedical sciences, has entered into a five-year collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) focusing on applying novel chemistry to drug discovery and synthesis.

The collaboration will revolve around support for projects of mutual interest to BMS and a number of Scripps Research chemistry laboratories. Scripps Research investigators and senior scientists from BMS collaborated to develop research plans incorporated into the new agreement.

"This agreement is an exciting development for the Scripps Research Institute," said Michael A. Marletta, president and CEO of Scripps. "It serves as a great example of how we will engage corporate partners in both understanding and treating disease.”

The research will utilize Scripps Research investigators' expertise in applying chemistry methodologies to prepare novel synthetic intermediates and analogs for biological evaluation against Bristol-Myers Squibb targets.

"This arrangement is exemplary of our forward-looking corporate partnership strategy, as the first of what we hope will be many such agreements existing in parallel," said Scott Forrest, vice president for business development at Scripps.