Solmap’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Frank Guarnieri presented at the annual bio conference in Boston on April 29th, 2008 in which he discussed the computational development of allosteric small molecule antagonists of RecA fibril formation. He stated that, “In response to bacterial DNA damage from UV or antibiotics, dozens of RecA subunits homo-oligerimize seeding onto single-stranded DNA and effect an ATP driven repair. Computational solvent mapping identified a class of small molecules (200 MW) predicted to have high affinity for the allosteric site. Two molecules were purchased from Sigma, one predicted to have high affinity for the site and the other, a closely related analog, predicted to have no affinity for the site. Bacterial growth assays confirm the computational predictions, but direct binding assays give hard to interpret results. The importance, complexity and potential for targeting RecA as a means of dealing with the growing problem of resistance was discussed.

Solmap’s General Manager Mirza Cifric presented Solmap’s progress on the internal drug discovery programs and the strategic direction of the venture. Several partnering meetings were held with potential clinical partners for the current pre-clinical discovery and development programs.