FMC Corporation, a global leader in agricultural sciences, has announced a collaboration with Optibrium, a prominent developer of software and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for small molecule discovery. This agreement is part of FMC’s strategic plan to speed up the discovery and commercialization of its pipeline.
Expanding FMC’s Discovery process to include Optibrium’s innovative Augmented Chemistry AI technologies will help bring new solutions to growers faster. Machine learning and AI methods will serve to identify promising compounds, optimize their properties, and continue the company’s focus on sustainable products.
“Our collaboration with Optibrium marks a pivotal moment in crop protection research,” stated Dr. Seva Rostovtsev, FMC executive vice president and chief technology officer. “By integrating AI into our R&D efforts, we aim to revolutionize how we develop sustainable solutions for farmers and ultimately enhance global food security.”
FMC will utilize Optibrium’s Cerella and StarDrop technologies to further internal research and development. Cerella is an AI platform enhancing molecular discovery with deep learning, enabling more accurate predictions and better experimental prioritization to improve return on investment. StarDrop complements this further through small molecule design and optimization, integrating with Cerella to leverage AI for improved data analysis in discovery.
“We are delighted that our robust AI and software platforms are supporting FMC, a global leader in crop protection, to enhance their discovery,” stated Matt Segall, chief executive officer of Optibrium. “FMC’s commitment to improving their processes with cutting-edge AI and machine learning approaches very much aligns with our own mission to revolutionise discovery with innovative scientific solutions, and we look forward to seeing the future impacts of this agreement.”
About FMC
FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population while adapting to a changing environment. FMC’s innovative crop protection solutions – including biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture – enable growers, crop advisers and turf and pest management professionals to address their toughest challenges economically while protecting the environment. With approximately 6,200 employees at more than 100 sites worldwide, FMC is committed to discovering new herbicide, insecticide and fungicide active ingredients, product formulations and pioneering technologies that are consistently better for the planet.
About Optibrium
Optibrium develops exceptional software and AI solutions that help scientists advance their discovery projects. Cutting-edge science, backed up by rigorous research, underpins their intuitive software for compound design, optimisation and data analysis. Optibrium’s comprehensive in silico platform improves the speed, efficiency, and productivity of the discovery process and supports a worldwide customer base, including leading pharma, biotech, agrochemical and flavouring companies and not-for-profit and academic groups. Optibrium was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with a US subsidiary, Optibrium Inc., based in Cambridge MA