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Medical Informatics Software Development |
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Applied Biosystems Enhances Software Development Community by
Adding Application Specific Tools for Genomic Analysis Research
Other Topics:
Healthcare Management,
Bioinformatics Initiatives
Applied Biosystems Inc.
July 21, 2008
Foster City, CA -- Applied Biosystems Inc. (NYSE:ABI) today
announced that it has expanded its Software Development
Community to include new software analysis tools that are
expected to help drive innovation and speed the development of
bioinformatics solutions that will enable researchers to realize
the full potential of ultra-high-throughput genomic analysis.
These new analysis tools were internally developed by Applied
Biosystems bioinformaticians to help researchers analyze the
vast amount of data generated by the company’s SOLiD™ System. |
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The Applied Biosystems Software
Development Community supports bioinformaticians and life
scientists in the development and potential commercialization of
informatics applications for next-generation genomic analysis
platforms. The community has noted approximately 1,000 downloads
of sample data sets and data analysis tools and resources by the
hundreds of researchers, independent software vendors,
bioinformatics service providers, and SOLiD System users who
have visited the site.
The new software tools include a whole genome color space
alignment and read annotation tool; a tool for converting native
SOLiD data into a community-driven standard (Short Read Format)
for NCBI submission; a tool for consolidating reference-aligned
SOLiD data into a standard format (General Feature Format); and
a small RNA SOLiD System analysis pipeline for human whole
genome alignment of small RNA sequencing data with tag counting
features.
Application data sets are also available for download in order
to aid researchers’ efforts in developing proprietary software
applications. The broad availability of these new tools and
software applications are intended to drive the involvement of
academic and open source communities to develop software
applications for ultra-high-throughput genomic analysis. Dr.
Michael Brudno, a computer scientist working in bioinformatics,
has developed a SOLiD System short read alignment tool that is
currently being utilized by commercial developers and academic
researchers.
“Commercial developers and the research community as a whole
will benefit from the peer reviewed distributions and the
transparency of process of open source software,” said Dr.
Brudno, a University of Toronto Assistant Professor and Canada
Research Chair in Computational Biology. “The end results of
this initiative will produce higher quality, higher reliability
and more flexible software analytics for genomic analysis.”
The Software Development Community represents Applied Biosystems’
commitment to fostering innovation in life science technologies
for industry leading genetic analyzers, and real-time PCR
sequence detection systems.
“We believe the availability of application specific tools and
software are critical to helping scientists rapidly develop
software applications that are necessary to advancing work in
understanding genetic variation,” said Shaf Yousaf, president
for Applied Biosystems’ molecular and cell biology genomic
analysis division. “By being the first manufacturer of
next-generation instrument systems to make software development
tools broadly available to the bioinformatics community, and
continuously expanding the tools and resources available, we are
empowering our customers to further establish new standards for
ultra-high-throughput genomic analysis research.”
Applied Biosystems is a global leader in the development and
commercialization of instrument-based systems, consumables,
software, and services for the life-science market and is a
recognized market leader in the commercialization of DNA
sequencing platforms. The SOLiD System, based on sequencing by
oligonucleotide ligation and detection, is Applied Biosystems’
platform for ultra high-throughput genomic analysis. Unlike
polymerase sequencing approaches, the SOLiD System utilizes a
proprietary technology called stepwise ligation, which generates
high quality data for applications including, whole genome
sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), microbial and
eukaryotic resequencing, digital karyotyping, medical
sequencing, genotyping, gene expression, and small RNA
discovery, among others. For more information about the SOLiD
System or the Software Development Community please visit:
http://info.appliedbiosystems.com/solidsoftwarecommunity or
http://solidsoftwaretools.com
About Applied Biosystems Inc.
Applied Biosystems Inc. (formerly known as Applera Corporation)
is a global leader in the development and marketing of
instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services
for academic research, the life science industry and commercial
markets. Driven by its employees' belief in the power of science
to improve the human condition, the company commercializes
innovative technology solutions for DNA, RNA, protein and small
molecule analysis. Customers across the disciplines of academic
and clinical research, pharmaceutical research and
manufacturing, forensic DNA analysis, and agricultural
biotechnology use the company’s tools and services to accelerate
scientific discovery, improve processes related to drug
discovery and development, detect potentially pathogenic
microorganisms, and identify individuals based on DNA sources.
Applied Biosystems has a comprehensive service and field
applications support team for a global installed base of
high-performance genetic and protein analysis solutions. On June
12, 2008, Applera Corporation and Invitrogen Corporation
(NASDAQ:IVGN) announced that their Boards of Directors had
approved a definitive merger agreement under which Invitrogen
will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Applied Biosystems
stock. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions and
is targeted to close in the fall of 2008. Further information
regarding the merger will be provided in a joint proxy
statement/prospectus to be mailed to stockholders of the company
and Invitrogen. Investors and security holders are urged to read
this document when it becomes available because it will contain
important information. Applied Biosystems Inc. is headquartered
in Norwalk, CT, and reported sales of approximately $2.1 billion
during fiscal 2007. Information about Applied Biosystems,
including reports and other information filed by the company
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at
http://www.appliedbiosystems.com. All information in this news
release is as of the date of the release, and Applied Biosystems
does not undertake any duty to update this information unless
required by law.
Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking.
These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or
phrases such as "should, "planned," and "expect," among others.
These forward-looking statements are based on our current
expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking
statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe
harbor, we note that a variety of factors could cause actual
results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated
results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements. These factors include but are not limited to: (1)
rapidly changing technology and dependence on customer
acceptance of the SOLiD System; (2) the risk of unanticipated
difficulties associated with the further development of the
SOLiD™ System; and (3) other factors that might be described
from time to time in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as
of the date of the release, and we do not undertake any duty to
update this information, including any forward-looking
statements, unless required by law.
©Copyright 2008. Applied Biosystems Inc. All rights reserved.
Applera, Applied Biosystems, and AB (Design) are registered
trademarks, and SOLiD is a trademark of Applied Biosystems Inc.
or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.
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