Subject: Tripos and MDL announces collaboration

From: "Osman F. Guner" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 15:00:54 -0800 (PST)

This press release is simultaneously submitted to CHMINF-L, CHEMIND-L, CCL, 
ISISforum-l, and Mol-Diversity lists.  If you have subscriptions to more 
than one of these lists, we apologize for the multiple posting.

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   MDL INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INC. AND TRIPOS, INC. TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS
              FOR PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL RESEARCHERS 

ST. LOUIS, Missouri February 12, 1996 MDL Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq
National Market System: MDLI), a leading supplier of chemical information
management systems, and Tripos, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRPS), a leading supplier of
molecular discovery, design, and analysis technologies, today announced a
collaboration to provide integrated software solutions. These solutions will
incorporate simulation, analysis, and database management capabilities for
customers in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and chemical industries.  The
two companies will accomplish this by separately offering products that in
combination provide comprehensive, integrated solutions addressing customer
needs in areas such as combinatorial chemistry and molecular design and
analysis.  Each company will continue to develop technologies independently
while working on integration of key products. 

The goal of this collaboration is to provide more comprehensive solutions that
help customers accelerate the compound discovery process and enhance research
productivity.  The two firms will collaborate initially in combinatorial
chemistry informatics, a new technology that is revolutionizing compound
research methods.  Tripos was the first company to deliver molecular diversity
technology tools for combinatorial library design, storage, and analysis and
has expertise in pharmacological activity prediction.  MDL was the first
company to deliver combinatorial chemistry data management tools and has
additional expertise in library management, workflow support, and databases of
reactions and reagent information. 

The other initial area of major collaboration will be in combined solutions for
molecular design and analysis.  Researchers will benefit from transparent
access to MDL s databases and ISIS, an open, client/server scientific
information management system, from Tripos products including SYBYL (advanced
molecular design and analysis), Alchemy (desktop molecular design) and Unity
(integrated 3D database system for bio-active molecular discovery). 

Tripos will rely on ISIS as the information pipeline for its design solution. 
Tripos will continue to aggressively develop and improve Unity for 3D searching
and analysis.  Tripos announced that it intends to cease further development of
Unison and will work with MDL to allow Unison customers to convert their
current systems to integrated solutions based on ISIS. 

Steven Goldby, MDL's chairman and CEO, said,  MDL and Tripos each have achieved
leadership in complementary technologies, and we are now combining these
strengths to better serve our customers. The beauty of this arrangement is that
each company can concentrate on the things it does best for new compound
discovery.  MDL's customers will benefit in many ways.  ISIS users will have
easier access to Tripos  integrated design and analysis applications.  We look
forward to a long relationship in which we continue to exploit opportunities
for innovative shared solutions. 

John McAlister, president and CEO of Tripos said, "Tripos' collaboration with
MDL will rpovide our customers with the unique opportunity to combine their
data management facilities with data analysis, modeling, and experimental
design in a seamless fashion.  As Tripos focuses more of its efforts on new
compound discovery and combinatorial library design, our customers will benefit
>from rapid product innovation and deployment.  We are confident that this
alliance will significantly advance the use and application of high technology
and computational methods in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and chemical
research." 

About the Companies 
===================
Tripos, Inc., with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri and offices worldwide,
is a leader in the creation, development, and delivery of chemical libraries,
discovery software and related services to facilitate the discovery of new
therapeutic and bioactive compounds in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
chemical, and agrochemical industries. The customer base includes the world s
largest scientific research organizations. 

Established in 1978, MDL Information Systems, Inc. is a 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. 

                                   ### 

MDL is a registered trademark of MDL Information Systems, Inc.  ISIS is a
trademark of MDL Information Systems, Inc.  Unity, SYBYL, and Alchemy are
registered trademarks of Tripos, Inc.  All other products are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders. 

The statements which are not historical facts contained in this release are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but
not limited to, product demand and market acceptance risks, the effect of
economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product
development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and other risks
detailed in both Companies  Securities and Exchange Commission filings.