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Consortium brings first version to market for French public labs, international
version to follow in Q1 2003
Paris, France, October 15, 2002.
The Genostar consortium, which includes GENOME express, Hybrigenics,
INRIA and the Institut Pasteur, announces today the availability of
its bioinformatics platform for exploratory genomics version 1.0.
Announced and demonstrated in May 2002, the Genostar platform brings
a new dimension to the analysis of genomic and post-genomic data.
It introduces explicit representation both of biological and informatic
entities implicated in the discovery process, and of their inter-relationships.
The initial version will be available from November 15 for French national laboratories. Subsequent versions to be announced Q1 2003 will be available to all. Private sector and international researchers wishing to use the platform will do so through collaboration with the private sector members of the consortium, GENOME Express and Hybrigenics. Further details of access conditions including user license terms can be found on the website www.genostar.org.
Genostar runs under Linux, Unix and Mac OS X. It is made up of three application modules, GenoAnnot, GenoLink and GenoBool, and a kernel that handles the management and persistence of shared data.
This fully-functional, open-ended and user-friendly discovery tool has been in beta-test since June at half a dozen public laboratories in France. The GenoAnnot module makes it particularly suitable for the exploration of data concerning prokaryote organisms.
The added value of this version is a direct result of the availability of complete sequences of close to 100 bacterial genomes, with two complete genomes being added every month. Future versions - which will be available to international and private sector users - will offer advanced data and knowledge management functions as well as extended analysis including eukaryote genomes.
Genostar meets the challenge of working with the huge volumes and diversity of genomic data by offering scientists a new architecture based on a unified representation of data and the relationships between them. Scientists will find this approach a significant advance in genomic research as it allows the user to store, manipulate and compare different types of data, an activity hitherto fraught with problems.
Genostar's designers set out to develop a comprehensive discovery platform that could be employed across all fields of genomics and manipulate and compare various categories of data. Another goal was scalability, allowing inclusion of new categories of data, customization of discovery methods and integration of new bioinformatic modules into the system. The platform also meets objectives in user-friendliness: plug'n'play, interoperability between modules and compatibility with a range of operating systems. The concept of a unique, unified, bioinformatic representation of data, offering a user-friendly set of tools for synthesizing and analyzing data, is at the heart of Genostar.
About Genostar
Genostar is a public-private consortium founded in December 1999 to
provide the scientific community with an international-class bioinformatics
platform for exploratory genomics. The four members of the Genostar
consortium are GENOME express, Hybrigenics, INRIA and the Pasteur Institute.
The first version of Genostar gives public and private sector researchers
a platform offering a unified way of representing biological knowledge
and able to process data from diverse sources such as high throughput
sequencing, micro-arrays, proteomics and protein-protein interactions.
For more information: www.genostar.org
About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, develops and markets high value-added
solutions for functional genomics. The company offers a unique platform
that integrates proprietary tools for genomics (discovery and identification
of SNPs - Syn-QuenceTM), transscriptomics (gene expression analysis),
and proteomics (identification of proteins using genome mapping
of mass de spectro data. Pep MapTM). Building on its success and
experience as a service provider, GENOME express is currently making
its platform accessible to private sector researchers and academics
in the biopharmaceutical sector. This will be done through partnerships
and enable GENOME express customers to outsource their R&D projects
either in part or totally. The company is also developing its own
research to discover new targets for therapeutic or diagnostic applications
in the fields of metabolic diseases such as diabetes or asthma,
the central nervous system and bacterial genomics.
For more information: www.genomex.com
About Hybrigenics
Hybrigenics is a functional proteomics company that identifies and
validates new drug targets and therapeutic molecules via protein
interaction mapping, and cellular generic as well as disease-specific
assays in human cells. As a key player in the post-genomics era,
the Company elucidates protein functions as part of specific biological
complexes or as networks of interacting proteins (so called "pathways").
Because most drugs act on proteins or are themselves proteins, Hybrigenics'
approach shortens the path between genomics and drug development.
The Company has developed integrated biological experiment-based and
in silico-based technology platforms that allow identification, selection,
prioritization and validation of therapeutic targets. Hybrigenics uses
these platforms on an industrial scale to discover and validate novel
targets for biopharmaceutical companies and for its own internal drug
discovery programs.
Hybrigenics has a well-balanced business model, combining partnership
with biopharmaceutical companies in any disease area and in-house Research
and Development programs. These programs are focused on specific disease
areas including viral diseases and cancer..
For more information: www.hybrigenics.com
About INRIA
INRIA is a research institute at the heart of the information society.
The National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control
was founded in 1967. INRIA is a public scientific and technological
institution placed under the dual authority of the French ministries
of research and industry. INRIA is present in all fields that involve
information and communication science and technology (ICST). Its role
is, on the one hand, to carry out high-level basic and applied research,
involving experimentation on innovative systems. On the other hand,
the Institute must provide a strong technology transfer activity while
paying keen attention to training through research, technical and scientific
information diffusion, development, appraisals and participation in
international programs. Health and life sciences are one of its two
priority fields of application.
For more information: www.inria.fr
About the Institut Pasteur
The Institut Pasteur is a private foundation in the service of public
health. It aims to contribute to preventing and combating disease in
France and abroad, through scientific and medical research, teaching
and public health services. Twelve scientific departments bring together
130 research teams totaling 2500 people. A pioneer in the field of pathogenic
microorganism genomics, Institut Pasteur's Genopole has seven technical
platforms covering work in genomics, DNA chips, proteomics, informatics
and annotation, production of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant
proteins, macromolecular crystallisation and X-ray diffraction facility,
and high throughput synthesis of long oligonucleotides.
For more information: www.pasteur.fr
