The answer lies in the soil

Agreement has been reached between Taisho Pharmaceutical and Nimura Genetic Solutions to co-operate in a search for drug candidates from soil micro-organisms collected in Malaysia.

Nimura has a Malaysian subsidiary that makes Seekings, a plate containing compounds extracted from soil-dwelling bacteria and moulds that have been isolated and cultured.

Under the agreement Nimura will supply Seekings plates to Taisho for screening, and expects these will contain several thousand samples a year. Taisho will screen the compounds to select substances that warrant further study as possible new drug leads.