Big tech company Cadence expands into medicine software simulations in $500M deal

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Cadence Design Systems provides computational technologies used in industries such as communications, automotive, and aerospace and defense. The company is now taking private OpenEye Scientific, a provider of simulation software used in computational drug design, adding to drug discovery in a $500 million deal.

OpenEye does not manufacture drugs, but its software is used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The company’s software-as-a-service offering, called Orion, provides molecular modeling and simulation capabilities. San Jose, Calif.-based Cadence said in a statement Monday about the acquisition that growing demand for new drugs is driving demand for computational capabilities that enable 3D analysis of molecular structures. The company notes that biosimulation is a critical tool that provides atomic-level insights into molecular interactions.

“Cadence’s deep computational software expertise drives further innovation in algorithms that improve the reliability, efficiency and speed of molecular simulations,” Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence, said in the announcement. “We look forward to welcoming such a talented team and are excited to accelerate innovation and improve research and development productivity in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.”

OpenEye, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was founded in 1997. The company says its products are used by pharmaceutical giants including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, along with smaller biotech companies such as Black Diamond Therapeutics. Other customers include educational institutions.

Cadence describes its business strategy as “intelligent system design.” The company provides its computational software to electronic systems and semiconductor customers who use it to manufacture its own products. Most of the company’s revenue comes from licensing its software and intellectual property. Cadence projects revenue of nearly $3 billion for 2021, an 11 percent increase over last year. Cadence’s second-quarter 2022 financial results, released after the market closed on Monday, showed revenue of $858 million, up 17.8 percent from the same period last year.

On a conference call to discuss second-quarter financial results, Devgan said demand for OpenEye’s capabilities includes a cadence of use of the software by 19 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and strong go-to-market with software-as-a-service offerings. OpenEye enables Cadence to reach new customers in the life sciences. But the move pits the tech company against well-established competitors such as Dassault Systèmes and Schrödinger in computational drug design.

The OpenEye acquisition is a cash deal. Cadence expects to close the transaction in the third quarter of this year.

Photo: metamorworks, Getty Images

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