Oxford Molecular

May 5, 2021

August 9, 20053:00 am Princeton-based Pharmacopeia (Nasdaq: PCOP) today said it has signed an agreement to buy the software unit of England”s Oxford Molecular Group (London: OMG) for $27 million comprising cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. The acquisition is subject to approval by Oxford shareholders and will be accounted for using the purchase method of accounting. On completion of the transaction, Pharmacopeia will integrate Oxford”s bioinformatics and cheminformatics products into its life sciences software business. The acquisition will provide Pharmacopeia with three key assets: an industry leading position in the large and growing field of bioinformatics, a broad line of cheminformatics products that complement Pharmacopeia”s existing chemical database tools from Synopsys Scientific Systems, and a group of more than 120 talented employees. Pharmacopeia bought Synopsys Scientific Systems in February for about $25 million to boost its data-services capabilities. “The acquisition of Oxford Molecular”s software business is strategically very significant for Pharmacopeia,” said Joseph A. Mollica, Pharmacopeia”s CEO. “We believe their bioinformatics products are unmatched in quality and scientific utility. They serve an increasingly important function as efforts continue to sequence and understand the human genome. This acquisition should serve to fuel Pharmacopeia”s continued growth.” Oxford Molecular Group is a worldwide supplier of integrated discovery software and collaborative development services, for use by companies and academic institutions in the fields of pharmaceutical and biotechnology research. Its software business, which generated revenues of $15 million in 1999, designs and markets bioinformatics and cheminformatics products for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries. Pharmacopeia is a leader in enabling science and technology that accelerates drug discovery and chemical development. Pharmacopeia”s drug discovery services segment integrates proprietary small molecule combinatorial chemistry, high-throughput screening and informatics to accelerate its customers” drug discovery efforts. Its software segment, which includes MSI and Synopsys Scientific Systems, develops and commercializes molecular modeling, simulation and informatics software and services. The company employs 550 people and generated 1999 revenues of $104 million.