ADVANCED SOFTWARE FOR FAST-TRACK PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH RELEASED BY MDL INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INC.; System Targets Revolutionary Drug Design Methodology.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 1995--The first software exclusively designed for high-speed combinatorial drug research has been released by MDL Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq National Market System: MDLI). MDL is the leading supplier of chemical information management systems.

MDL's Project Library software helps scientists manipulate the millions of molecules and large volumes of structural and biological data that typify combinatorial chemistry, a drug research methodology that is rapidly gaining ground throughout the pharmaceutical industry. The combinatorial approach uses a mix of technologies to accelerate research, reduce costs, and bring pharmaceuticals to market faster. It allows researchers to simultaneously create and investigate a wide range of leads. Merck and Company, Inc. is among the first companies to purchase Project Library to support its combinatorial chemistry research efforts.

"The pharmaceutical industry's R&D expenditures grew at a compounded rate of about 12 percent between 1988 and 1992, yet the number of new chemical entities introduced in 1991 was approximately half that in 1986," said Steven Goldby, MDL's president and CEO. "Combinatorial chemistry promises to speed research in AIDS drugs and other important areas, while cutting development costs. MDL's Project Library represents an important milestone in the refinement of combinatorial technology."

With MDL's Project Library, researchers can easily build and manipulate vast "libraries" of chemical data describing the structure and behavior of millions of molecules and molecular fragments. Controlling this data is key to tracking the results of massive combinatorial experiments, identifying structures of active compounds, managing workflow, and monitoring costs. Project Library, a ready-to-use, desktop software application, does not require either special computer skills or costly information systems support.

MDL, which has produced scientific information systems for 17 years, developed Project Library by studying the technical and scientific requirements of 50 pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agrochemical companies. MDL tested Project Library prototypes at corporate research labs that pioneered combinatorial chemistry.

According to Eric M. Gordon, Ph.D., vice president of research and director of chemistry, Affymax Research Institute, a division of Glaxo-Wellcome, PLC, "With combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening it became clear quite early in the process that we would need a new generation of scientific information management tools to handle the extraordinary volume of data generated. I think MDL's Project Library is an impressive first step toward resolving this problem."

MDL's Project Library runs on Windows platforms with 486 or Pentium processors. A Macintosh version will be available soon.

What are Combinatorial Chemistry and High Throughput Screening (HTS)?

Combinatorial chemistry technology, increasingly used by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agrochemical companies worldwide, allows scientists to rapidly produce large numbers of compounds for testing. HTS is a method of using robotics and other automation equipment to rapidly test these compounds for their biological activity (as a drug, pesticide, herbicide, etc.) to determine their efficacy as lead candidates. The implementation of HTS programs allows research organizations to increase the number of tests run from several hundred to 100,000 per week -- greatly accelerating the discovery process.

About MDL

Established in 1978, MDL Information Systems, Inc. is the leading commercial supplier of chemical information management software, chemical information databases, and related services to the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and chemical industries. The company's software and database products enable its customers to discover and develop new products more rapidly by allowing scientists to access and use scientific information more effectively. MDL has offices worldwide with headquarters in San Leandro, California. -0-

Note to Editors: ISIS, MDL, and Project Library are trademarks of MDL Information Systems, Inc. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: MDL Information Systems, Inc.

Paul Bendix, 510/895-1313 ext. 1506

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For Company background: http://www.mdli.com