O5 Nature Open Library, an Open Innovation initiative to boost the exploration of natural products

Abstract

Natural Products are still a largely untapped resource, not only in pharma, but also in animal health, agronomy, and nutrition among others. To foster the valorization of Natural Products in Life Sciences, Pierre Fabre Laboratories (prescription medicines and consumer health care products) launched “Nature Open Library” [1] , an Open Innovation initiative allowing Pierre Fabre to share their private plant’s collection as well as their expertise in natural substances for research, development and industrialization of plant active ingredients. Pierre Fabre Laboratories provide access to their private plant library, the most important and diverse in the industry, numbering over 16,000 classified samples including pharmacopeia parts of plants but also numerous uncommon species of interest in drug discovery. This collection covers high taxonomic ranks to ensure a large botanical diversity (90% of plant Orders and 60% of plant Families), generating a rare library of natural substances. This collection has been developed in accordance with biodiversity access regulations and is managed through a total Quality Management system (Botanical Expertise Pierre Fabre). Thousands of plants extracts of worldwide origin are thus available for screening. Pierre Fabre Laboratories propose also to share their interdisciplinary teams mastering the entire phyto-industrial value chain (from botanists and phyto-chemists to regulatory specialists) and will help in the further development of Natural Products. Through this unique Open Innovation initiative and by opening new fields of exploration for Natural Products, Pierre Fabre Laboratories will help its future partners to boost their innovative process.