MDL Information Systems, Inc. was a provider of R&D informatics products for the life sciences and chemicals industries.
The company's initial products were first-of-their-kind systems for storing and retrieving molecules as graphical structures and for managing databases of chemical reactions and related data.
From its initial pioneering of computer handling of graphical chemical structures with MACCS (Molecular ACCess System) in 1979, MDL continued at the forefront of the field now known as cheminformatics.
The August 2007 press release announcing Symyx Technologies' acquisition of MDL indicates that combining Symyx and MDL offerings creates an expanded set of software solutions and services to enhance R&D productivity in the life sciences, chemicals and energy industries.
The press release states: "With this solution set, Symyx will be able to accelerate its customers' move toward paperless labs by integrating content, collaborative desktops, automation and information management for users, workgroups and the enterprise."