Communicating chemical and biological data just got easier – IDBS launches ActivityBase 5.3 and SARview 6.0
IDBS, provider of integrated data management, analysis and decision-making software for life sciences, today announced ActivityBase 5.3 and SARview 6.0. ActivityBase 5.3 helps chemists by delivering direct, easy access to the biological data for their compounds. Additional enhancements for biologists ensure effective quality control data and increased efficiency. When analysing research data, SARview 6.0 provides different views of the data from within the same application, saving valuable time—scientists no longer have to switch between applications.
ActivityBase 5.3 fully integrates chemical and biological data and is the pharmaceutical industry’s standard platform for managing drug discovery data. Version 5.3 enables chemists to spend more time concentrating on analysing their compounds rather than querying for information on them. Quality control of the screening data has been simplified which results in more efficient data analysis while a new Oracle package helps streamline the database and improve performance levels. SARview 6.0 retrieves chemical and biological data from within ActivityBase, enabling researchers to accurately analyse the data and ultimately make decisions about whether to progress compounds further along the drug discovery pipeline. It has been designed for the non-database expert and integrates seamlessly into the discovery workflow.
“Integration of chemical and biological data has always been a hallmark of ActivityBase,” commented Neil Kipling, Chairman and CEO of IDBS. “Data sharing between chemists and biologists is integral to the success of any drug discovery project. With the release of ActivityBase 5.3, there have been further improvements to the level of integration of the research data. Together with SARview 6.0, chemists and biologists now have easier and more efficient access to each other’s data which means that they will spend less time in front of the computer and more time doing research.”
For chemists, biological data can now be accessed directly from the compound form where the compound was registered. They can now view a table of the biological information for their compounds from their chemistry database in a familiar, searchable form. This ease of access to the relevant information greatly assists chemists in deciding which compounds to progress.
A number of improvements have made a significant difference to the ease of use of the application. Scientists can now access information more readily and repetitive tasks such as compound registration have been reduced. For example, chemists can now design customised compound forms, only including the fields that are relevant to them. In addition, commonly used fields can be saved as registration defaults when registering multiple compounds. Interaction improvements such as the ability to perform structure searches directly from the compound form and navigating query lists using the up and down arrow keys have made it easier to find compounds. This improvement in navigating forms has been extended to support object lists and workbench groups. “While many of these improvements may seem like small changes, they add up to a significant improvement in the usability of the application. While other data management applications can frustrate scientists, ActivityBase works with them,” commented Dr. Jonathan Davies, Product Manager, IDBS.
SARview 6.0 provides two different table views of the data, which allows chemists to view multiple structures simultaneously and drill down into the detail of the compound with a classic profile view. Having all these views in the same application is much more efficient than switching between different applications.
With SARview 6.0, chemists do not need to be database experts to query data. They can easily construct structure-activity relationship (SAR) tables—sourcing the biological and chemical data from ActivityBase, another database or a combination of databases.
For biologists, an additional visualisation—multiple plate view—has been added to ActivityBase 5.3. By allowing screeners to review and verify results across more than a single plate at the same time, this view improves the quality control analysis of screening programmes.
Biologists can perform much more than standard SAR analysis in SARview 6.0. For example, powerful cross test analysis and quality control allows biologists to view and analyse data across different screens. Curve analysis from multiple tests and setting up new tests for the compounds to progress means a more comprehensive analysis of discovery data. The ability to pivot condition data also means that biologists can now review data that varies with multiple conditions, different cell lines, targets, species etc.
For database administrators, a new database purge package gives more control over purge operations. Regular purges ensure optimum database performance and help prevent database overload. For example, administrators can schedule a purge of individual tests, of all tests in a study and of all deleted data in a database on a daily basis.
IDBS will exhibit at the SBS conference at booth # 621.
About IDBS
IDBS’ vision of model based drug discovery is to enable and mobilise organisations to work with the best possible information at every stage of the drug discovery process. Through a framework of consistent data capture, integrated discovery processes and accurate correlated predictions, IDBS provides both the environment and the solutions required to shorten the time to market for new drugs.
Through integrated and innovative informatics applications, technologies and services, IDBS enables organisations to unlock the value held within their discovery data. IDBS delivers a cohesive method for providing manageable, scalable discovery workflows that can be controlled and shared between organisations and departments, allowing secure, easy access to key data.
Headquartered in Guildford, United Kingdom, IDBS has offices in Emeryville, California; Parsippany, New Jersey; and, Cambridge, Massachusetts. IDBS partners with CTC Laboratory Systems in Japan to market IDBS products and services. Founded in 1989, IDBS employs over 170 people worldwide.
About ActivityBase
ActivityBase is an integrated data management software application that incorporates high-throughput and high-content screening, multiple full dose response determinations, lead optimisation, pharmacology and toxicology studies, quantitative expression data handling and inventory tracking, combined with the ability to register, manage and display chemical structures and reactions. Through the implementation of ActivityBase, scientists can easily define and run experiments, capture, visualise and analyse the information derived and then share the data throughout the company and with collaborators to help streamline the discovery research process.
