Aurora Discovery

Aurora Discovery was a biotechnology company that specialized in the development of ultra-high-throughput screening (UHTS) systems and advanced assay technologies for the pharmaceutical industry. Originally established as a subsidiary of Aurora Biosciences, the company focused on miniaturized drug discovery platforms, most notably the NanoPlate system, which enabled the rapid evaluation of vast chemical libraries. Its core technology utilized fluorescence-based detection methods, such as Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), to identify biological activity in small molecule drug candidates with high precision. In 2001, the company was integrated into Vertex Pharmaceuticals following Vertex's acquisition of its parent company, Aurora Biosciences. The instrumentation and service assets of Aurora Discovery were subsequently sold to Invitrogen in 2003 to further consolidate its technology in the life sciences market.