AUI Wins Bid to Manage IMCA-CAT

Today, the Industrial Macromolecular Crystallography Association (IMCA) announced they have selected AUI as their management and operations contractor for the IMCA Collaborative Access Team (IMCA-CAT). In its role, AUI will provide IMCA members support in staffing, operations, development, representation, maintenance, safety, reporting and compliance. IMCA-CAT is a state-of-the-art research facility for pharmaceutical structure-based drug design.  The research conducted sheds light on the form and function of proteins and potential therapeutics for treating disease.  For more than 30 years, IMCA-CAT has served a critical role in advancing the development of new drugs.

“Promoting access to unique user facilities like the IMCA-CAT beamline is a core function of AUI,” AUI president Adam Cohen said. “We look forward to working with the IMCA Board and the IMCA-CAT team to help make scientific breakthroughs possible.”

IMCA was established in 1990 to support the operation and development of the IMCA-CAT facility at sector 17 of the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. Usage of the beamline is shared by the pharmaceutical members of IMCA including AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Evotec, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer and Relay Therapeutics.

“Through AUI, we look forward to continued excellence in meeting the high-precision needs of the pharmaceutical industry,” said Lisa Keefe, executive director of IMCA-CAT. “Our professional staff ensure that the IMCA-CAT facility performs to the highest standards for quality, reliability, efficiency and productivity, while providing exceptional quality molecular structure data at ultra-high throughput rates, comprehensive security for confidentiality and protection of proprietary data, and expertise for challenging experiments.”

IMCA-CAT partners with the pharmaceutical industry members of IMCA to drive innovation and sustain cutting-edge operations, distinguishing the beamline as a cost-effective, world-class facility for pharmaceutical research.

About IMCA-CAT

The Industrial Macromolecular Crystallography Association Collaborative Access Team (IMCA-CAT) is an organization charged by the Industrial Macromolecular Crystallography Association (IMCA) to design, build, and operate an experimental facility at sector 17 of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, for pharmaceutical drug discovery research. Since its establishment in 1992, IMCA-CAT has played a pivotal role in accelerating structure-based drug development.

 About AUI

AUI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1946 that builds, manages and operates large research and development (R&D) facilities for the federal government, including the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) facilities, the Center for American Supply Chain Resilience (CASCR), and the AUI Center for Advancing Therapeutics. AUI also develops and implements innovative approaches to education, outreach and workforce development.

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Published April 1, 2025