March 17, 2025

Actyon Discovery Welcomes Dr. Marc Nicklaus as Chief Scientific Officer

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Marc Nicklaus, a distinguished scientist from the US National Cancer Institute, has joined Actyon Discovery as our new Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Nicklaus brings with him a wealth of experience and a remarkable track record in cancer research and drug discovery.

Dr. Nicklaus is widely acknowledged for his development of the Synthetically Accessible Virtual Inventory (SAVI) system, a groundbreaking tool that has revolutionized the way researchers approach drug discovery. SAVI has significantly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of identifying potential therapeutic compounds, making it a cornerstone in the field of medicinal chemistry.

In addition to his work on SAVI, Dr. Nicklaus has conducted significant research on Tautomerism, contributing valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of chemical compounds. His research has advanced our understanding of how tautomers influence drug efficacy and stability, which is crucial for the development of new therapeutics.

Dr. Nicklaus has also made substantial contributions to the scientific community through the Chemical Identifier Resolver (CIR). CIR is an essential tool that works as a resolver for various chemical structure identifiers, including chemical names, InChI, and SMILES. This system has greatly facilitated the accurate identification and communication of chemical structures, supporting researchers worldwide in their efforts to advance scientific knowledge.

CIR is in fact one of the services among the several tools and data sets on the CADD Group Chemoinformatics Tools and User Services (the cactus server), which is the oldest freely accessible, continuously running, chemoinformatics service with advanced structure and substructure search capabilities in the world, having been founded in 1998. 

With over three decades of pioneering work, Dr. Nicklaus has significantly contributed to the advancement of drug discovery research. His expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and strive towards our mission of discovering groundbreaking treatments for cancer and other serious diseases.

We welcome Dr. Nicklaus to Actyon Discovery and look forward to his positive impact on our discovery programs.

For more information on Actyon Discovery, contact: [email protected]