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STARTING WITH just a few research reagents, Co has grown into a major provider of chemical libraries for drug screening, culled from a collection of more than 380,000 compounds. It also develops libraries and building blocks based on customer request. Compounds are synthesized by chemists at Co.`s own facility in Moscow, which employs 320, and by a network of some 250 freelance university and institute chemists in Russia. Co. is seen as a source of innovative chemistry by its customers, which include all the major drug companies. However, he acknowledges that the company's Moscow lab isn't an ideal location to optimize hits extracted from its libraries.
"For those kind of services, you need very fast feedback loops and rapid redirection of synthetic programs. "One of the disadvantages of doing chemistry in Moscow is the logistical challenge. Only very recently have major reagent suppliers begun to build up stock in Moscow."
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