Boston, Massachusetts, USA — April 30, 2009 — CLC bio’s enterprise platform for Next Generation Sequencing data analysis, CLC Genomics Server, has just been awarded the “Best of Show” prize at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo 2009 - an award judged by a team of Bio-IT World magazine editors and leading industry experts.

Bio-IT World Editor-in-Chief Kevin Davies, PhD., comments, “Each year we go through a process where our judging panel debates the technical merits and likely business impact of the different technologies presented at the Best of Show awards. CLC bio’s success this year clearly reflects the importance of the incredibly exciting Next Generation Sequencing space, with a solution that is obviously gaining traction with it’s capabilities to handle the immense data management and analytical challenges required in this area.”

“Judging on several criteria, such as the importance of the problem being addressed and the elegance of the solution provided, it was clear to the judging panel that CLC Genomics Server, and the flexible plug-in structure it provides, delivers an ideal platform for researchers working with Next Generation Sequencing data.” says M. Michael Barmada, PhD. - member of the “Best of Show” judging panel and Director of the Center for Computational Genetics at the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh. “It’s nice to see complex computational algorithms and routines presented with an elegant interface in a user-friendly way, which lowers the technical barriers for all researchers working with high-throughput sequence data analysis.”

CLC Genomics Server is CLC bio’s advanced and powerful bioinformatics solution which is built upon a powerful and modern three-tier server architecture, that yields flexible options of executing centralized services, easy integration with other applications and services, powerful database communication and data integration, and secure access control framework and central action logging. Customers already using this enterprise platform, includes J. Craig Venter Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Veridex, and University of California - Berkeley. Read more about this solution here:
http://www.clcbio.com/index.php?id=1376

KINGSTON, England, Nov. 25, 2008-Guava Technologies, Inc. presented at the recent Molecular Targets & Cancer Therapeutics Symposium* information on their recent advancements that describe an experimental methodology and the new Guava® Simplicity Analysis Software which exploit the advantages of plate based flow technology. These technological improvements result in an overall process that can significantly expedite the drug discovery process by providing a means for extraction of key findings from the highly complex data sets encountered with functional screening of siRNA knockdown assays.

Solid tumors comprise genetically heterogeneous cell populations whose growth and survival depends on the complex interplay of distinct, yet overlapping, signaling networks. A major challenge in developing a course of therapy is determining which signaling nodes to target for a specific malignancy. Profiles from siRNA gene silencing are integral to mapping disease-specific signaling cascade(s) and provide insight to key targets for therapeutic intervention. Successful siRNA screening relies not solely upon optimizing transfection, but also cell analysis systems capable of high content screening (HCS) at the single cell level, within overall populations (sample well), and across multiple data sets.

The presentation describes how the Guava EasyCyte™ Plus System, with integrated Guava Simplicity Software, provides a revolutionary platform for secondary target validation and compound screening. Guava Technologies’ flow cytometers overcome the limitations of inference-based measurements of transfection efficiency and protein knockdown through direct quantitiative analysis of populations at the single cell level. The Simplicity Analysis Software’s intuitive architecture and ease of use facilitates the process of asking biological questions on multi-dimensional data sets through visualisation of user-defined parameters in the form of heat-maps. Most importantly, comparative results are displayed at the experiment level rather than on an individual well/sample basis.

Specifically, using the EasyCyte Plus System in tandem with Simplicity Analysis Software, 23 agents were identified that had growth restrictive properties although significant variation across cell lines was observed. Further targeted gene knockdown via siRNA confirmed the presence of both activators and inhibitors of Camptothecin-induced apoptosis as well as gene targets for growth arrest. Screens for apoptosis and cell cycle, as well as phospho-signaling intermediates, defined compounds with mechanisms of action similar to and different from Camptothecin. Cell-based assays for phenotype and function revealed a number of cooperative and antagonistic interactions between signaling intermediates, their respective cascades, and cytoactive agents.

Overall, the acquired multiplex data set is shown to provide a more detailed view on the behaviour of each of the test compounds with respect to apoptotic induction, cell cycle progression, and the signaling cascades that regulate these cellular responses to drug treatment. In total, this experimental methodology, when used in conjunction with Guava Technologies’ cell analysis platforms and Simplicity Analysis Software, significantly expedites the drug discovery process by providing a means for extraction of key biological findings from complex result sets.

If you would like more information on this application it is available for download from http://guavatechnologies.com/cm/Resources/Scientific%20Pubs.html. More information about the company and its products is available at www.guavatechnologies.com.

Guava Technologies, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, is the leading provider of on-demand, easy-to-use single cell analysis systems. Guava® Systems, including the Guava® Personal Cell Analysis (PCA), Guava Auto CD4/CD4%, Guava® PCA-96 and Guava EasyCyte™ Systems, are integrated, fully optimised, microcapillary cytometry systems with embedded absolute cell counting capability. Used worldwide by the life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as clinical testing institutions (outside the United States and Europe), products from Guava Technologies have broad applications in scientific research and throughout the drug discovery and lead optimisation process, as well as for cell counting and optimisation of commercial biopharmaceutical production. Guava Technologies offers a variety of assays and dedicated software modules for the Guava Systems, enhancing the system’s overall ease-of-use.

* Guava, Guava Technologies Logo, and all other trademarks are property of Guava Technologies, Inc. * Guava® Simplicity Analysis Software is for Research Use Only. Not for use in Diagnostic procedures. * This symposium took place at the EORTC-NCI-AACR meeting in Geneva, Switzerland (21-24 October 2008)

San Diego, CA (OBBeC) – Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, developed a unique computational approach to identify key compounds that could lead to new drugs to combat African sleeping sickness — a disease spread by the biting tsetse fly and caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

Mathematical modelling in biology is often a problem with interactions estimation between a biomolecular target and small molecule compounds.

Knowledge of this interaction allows the interruption of certain processes in cells, for example it can impede diseases such as cancer.

This is why so many efforts focus on designing better models and algorithms for high-throughput virtual screening techniques.

Otava began developing its own virtual screening system in 2004 to incorporate entropy change that occurs during ligand-receptor binding into virtual screening protocol.

This project was initially restricted to model entropy change in harmonic oscillation approximation.

This model is closely related to quality of potential energy calculations.

Otava’s scientists designed a universal polarisable force field to achieve reasonable entropy change accounting (on the basis of unique empirical charges definition scheme).

Spanning entropies with traditional enthalpy calculations for free energy of binding prediction was inaccurate.

Adding ligands desolvation free energy that was calculated with modified GBSA method (up to 0.95 regression coefficient with experimentally derived data) improved the accuracy.

Further testing of the improved virtual screening system showed its efficiency depended on the nearest environmental water molecules, which are usually ignored in high-throughput virtual screening.

Otava’s scientists proposed a new algorithm of molecular docking code to implement fast and accurate water position finding.

Morristown, New Jersey / Munich, Germany – December 2, 2008 – Definiens, the number one Enterprise Image Intelligence™ company, has signed a co-marketing agreement with Bioscan, Inc., a leading developer of advanced imaging instrumentation for radiolabeled compounds.  Under the terms of the agreement, Bioscan and Definiens will conduct cooperative marketing activities and host joint workshops and events.  Customers will benefit through integrated training and implementation programs and streamlined access to the market-leading solutions offered by both companies. 

Non-invasive in vivo animal imaging offers researchers a window into living biological systems.  It provides the means to track a range of biological processes, from metabolism to receptors and gene-expression, and enables the effects of candidate pharmaceutical treatments to be monitored more accurately.  Recent improvements in molecular imaging technologies have made in vivo preclinical imaging increasingly important to researchers, and especially to those involved in the drug development process.  However, intelligent image analysis is required to extract meaningful insight from the prodigious amounts of data generated by advanced preclinical in vivo imaging systems.

Bioscan develops advanced instrumentation for the detection, synthesis and imaging of radiolabeled compounds used in life science research, molecular imaging, pharmaceutical development and nuclear medicine.  The company’s dual modality NanoSPECT/CT and NanoPET/CT in vivo animal imaging systems provide unparalleled insight into molecular function at the nanoliter precision level.  With these nano-nuclear imagers, Bioscan allows researchers to overcome the challenge of balancing resolution and sensitivity that has hampered the advancement of non-invasive imaging in preclinical studies.  

“Definiens and Bioscan share a commitment to developing the most advanced imaging technologies on the market,” said Dr. York Hamisch, Vice President of Imaging Technologies at Bioscan.  “This cooperative agreement will provide our customers with special access to Definiens’ image analysis technology, enabling them to extract information from their imagery with a high level of automation.”

Definiens provides life science organizations with software applications for analyzing and interpreting images on every scale, from cell and tissue-based assays to in-vivo imaging systems.  The company’s proprietary Definiens Cognition Network Technology^® is context-based, emulating human cognitive processes to extract intelligence from images of all modalities, sizes,  and resolutions.  Definiens image analysis software complements Bioscan’s imaging systems, enabling researchers to extract additional quantitative and anatomical information from 3D images of small animal models.

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom & STAMFORD, Conn.–Tepnel Life Sciences PLC (AIM:
TED) today announced that it has expanded its molecular genetic services
offering through the addition of Illumina’s iScan System, a next-generation
scanner that provides researchers conducting genetic variation studies with
significantly greater throughput and application diversity. This
announcement marks the first anniversary of Tepnel’s new pharmaceutical
services facility and makes Tepnel the first commercial provider of iScan
services within the UK.

Combined with Tepnel’s established range of upstream and downstream genetic
capabilities, the Company now offers a full suite of complementary services
from DNA extraction through to Bioinformatics. Illumina’s iScan platform
supports both human and non-human applications and is capable of generating
up to 225 million genotypes per day.

Tepnel also has a variety of other platforms and techniques for SNP-based
investigations for both human and non-human research and clinical
applications. This breadth of service enables Tepnel to provide a complete
solution from DNA extraction through to SNP genotyping and DNA sequencing,
all undertaken in accordance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP).

“Tepnel can offer customers a broad portfolio of innovative genetic analysis
assays some of which are supported on our new high-throughput iScan reader,”
said David Scott, General Manager of Tepnel’s Livingston facility. “This new
addition to our service opens up the possibility to our customers of whole
genome association, focused content analysis, copy number variation analysis
and, epigenetics on both human and non-human samples, all within a
regulatory compliant environment.”

“Accelerating and expanding our molecular genetic services at this rapid
pace reflects our commitment to the long-term strategy of building Tepnel’s
market presence in the fast-growing sectors of
pharmacogenomics/pharmacogenetics and genetic disease disposition testing,”
said Allan Brown, Managing Director, Tepnel Research Products & Services.

About Tepnel Life Sciences plc

Tepnel Life Sciences (AIM:TED) is a UK-based international life sciences
products and services Group with two divisions, Molecular Diagnostics and
Research Products & Services. The Company has laboratories, manufacturing
and operations in the USA, UK and France with over 200 employees. Tepnel
provides test kits, reagents and services to two highly synergistic markets,
these being Molecular Diagnostics and Biomedical Research. The Company’s
strategy has been to identify high growth niche opportunities within these
multi-billion pound markets. Tepnel focuses on these niche operations with
internally developed products, patents, expertise and know-how as well as
strategic acquisitions, to develop a leadership position within these
defined market segments. For more information please visit www.tepnel.com.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA — October 9, 2008 — CLC bio, a world leading full-service bioinformatics solution provider announced today an agreement with the J. Craig Venter Institute, a not-for profit genomic-focused research institute. The accord consists of a multi-year site license for the entire CLC bio bioinformatics suite of products. The goal is to implement CLC bio’s enterprise solution as a scientific platform across all JCVI sites. This enterprise solution will provide different research projects at JCVI with a coherent integration layer and a standardized way of developing custom software and specialized algorithms.

According to Granger Sutton, Senior Director of Informatics, “JCVI will benefit from implementing this enterprise solution, as it is a full enterprise platform that integrates, supports, and enhances workflows across different technologies and geographical sites. CLC bio’s software platform impressed our evaluators with its advanced features and intuitive, user-friendly interface.”

“We’re proud to announce this strategic partnership with JCVI, a leader in genomic research,” says CLC bio’s North America CEO Jan Lomholdt. “This site license agreement represents another stamp of approval of CLC bio’s solutions by a globally recognized institution in the scientific community. This partnership will lead to magnificent accomplishments in the scientific arena,” Lomholdt adds.

The enterprise solution CLC bio will be implementing at JCVI contains both server structure and support for all major database formats. This ensures a smart and efficient solution for sharing centralized bioinformatics data in a client/server architecture, where the server contains one or more databases and the clients are CLC bio’s workbenches.

CLC bio’s solution is a technological gateway that efficiently accesses all data and analysis in a single platform. With CLC bio’s enterprise solution all proprietary algorithms and solutions developed at JCVI can be accessed from the same bioinformatics platform, ensuring a streamlined workflow with minimal overhead and no tedious time-wasting procedures. CLC bio’s Developer Kit will enable JCVI to build targeted plug-ins for their internal use, while allowing JCVI to interact based on the same platform with worldwide collaborators.

About CLC bio
CLC bio is a world leading bioinformatics solution provider, solely focusing on the development of bioinformatics: software, hardware, data analysis, and custom-designed bioinformatics algorithms.

CLC bio’s mission is to be among the most innovative bioinformatics companies in the 21st century. This is realized through:

Focusing on Next Generation Sequencing downstream data analysis
Development of bioinformatics software and hardware based on the latest scientific findings
User-friendly, integrated and intuitive cross-platform software solutions
Continuous focus on customer needs and superior customer service
Frequent product updates including the latest IT technologies and bioinformatics algorithms
A flexible IT architecture, enabling customers to buy or develop individualized solutions at a reasonable price

Aarhus, Denmark — October 2, 2008 — Following an overwhelming reception of CLC Genomics Workbench 1.0, CLC bio is happy to announce the release of its next major version of their flagship product: CLC Genomics Workbench 2.0. Additionally, CLC bio has taken another important step in leading next generation sequencing data analysis by  becoming an Illumina Connect partner. Illumina Connect is a bioinformatics software partnership program established by Illumina, Inc. to advance data integration and analysis.

“CLC Genomics Workbench 2.0 provides scientists using Illumina’s Genome Analyzer with advanced downstream analysis,” says Jordan Stockton, Marketing Manager for Computational Biology at Illumina.  “Not only is it fast, but the new version of CLC Genomics Workbench offers alignment and assembly functionality that previously required larger investments in computer hardware. With its intuitive graphical interface, this application provides a simple desktop solution to biologists who might otherwise require the assistance of a dedicated bioinformatics professional.”

As an Illumina Connect partner, CLC bio has access to information in the ongoing development of Next Generation Sequencing tools, ensuring that CLC bio’s solutions will be able to fully support Illumina’s tools, including new releases.

Director of Scientific Software Solutions at CLC bio, Dr. Roald Forsberg states, “This release is inspired by the great advances in human genetics that are being powered by Next Generation Sequencing technologies, like Illumina. Large scale projects like the Cancer Genome Project and the 1000 Genomes Project are creating a vast amount of data that will transform biomedical research. However, before the revolution in human genetics can be fully realized by the research community there is a dramatic need for bioinformatics solutions that will allow biomedical researchers to handle and analyze sequencing projects at the human genomics scale - something we aim to solve with this and upcoming releases.”

CLC Genomics Workbench 2.0 will include several prominent new features, among these:

A new and extremely fast algorithm for the assembly of short reads

Lowering of the memory requirements that makes it feasible to perform reference assembly against all human chromosomes on a standard computer

Easy masking of genomic regions such as repeat or coding regions to lower the genomic complexity and facilitate the fast mapping of CHiP-seq data or exon captured data

Easy combination of data across platforms and experimental protocols so that e.g. single read and paired ends data are easily combined into one analysis
CLC Genomics Workbench is the first and only comprehensive analysis package which can analyze and visualize data from all major NGS platforms, such as Illumina’s Genome Analyzer, SOLiD by Applied Biosystems, 454 GS flx by Roche, and HeliScope by Helicos. CLC Genomics Workbench is platform independent, running on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux - including 64bit versions.

To read more about CLC Genomics Workbench go to: www.clcbio.com/genomics
About CLC bio
CLC bio is a world leading bioinformatics solution provider, solely focusing on the development of bioinformatics: software, hardware, data analysis, and custom-designed bioinformatics algorithms.

CLC bio’s mission is to be among the most innovative bioinformatics companies in the 21st century. This is realized through:

Focusing on Next Generation Sequencing downstream data analysis
Development of bioinformatics software and hardware based on the latest scientific findings
User-friendly, integrated and intuitive cross-platform software solutions
Continuous focus on customer needs and superior customer service
Frequent product updates including the latest IT technologies and bioinformatics algorithms
A flexible IT architecture, enabling customers to buy or develop individualized solutions at a reasonable price

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — September 9, 2008 — An international consortium consisting of Saudi Biosciences, Beijing Genomics Institute Shenzhen, and CLC bio have in a joint effort performed an initial sequencing and analysis of the first Arab human genome, as part of a large project to sequence 100 Arab human genomes to map the unique genetic variations of the Arab population.

His Royal Highness Prince Ahmad bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Head of the Board of Directors at Saudi Biosciences, said “This marks the first milestone in our goal to pioneer the personalized medicine era in the Arab world, and the next step is to lead a large project to sequence 100 Arab genomes at high resolution no later than the end of 2010. Our ambitions are to make this project go beyond similar international efforts, both in terms of quality and quantity!”

Dr. Saeed Hussain from Saudi Bio Sciences, states, “We are extremely proud to present the first Arab human genome! This project launches the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in to the small circle of nations who are currently in the process of building sophisticated databases of human genetic variation. This database is fundamental in the process of analyzing and understanding the specific genetic makeup of Arabs, which in turn will provide key knowledge to improve medical care for this large group of people.”

How was the project realized?
After Saudi Biosciences launched this project early 2008, an international joint collaboration with  Beijing Genomics Institute and CLC bio was organized.  A high quality sequencing of this genome was generated using Illumina’s Genome Analyzer platform. Afterwards the data was assembled and analyzed using CLC bio’s CLC Genomics Workbench.

“The fact that Saudi Biosciences have selected CLC bio among all the potential software providers, emphasizes that we are the world’s leading provider of genomics software solutions. We could think of no better opportunity to refine our software solutions, than a project like this, which is truly at the forefront of genomics research. This is indeed a unique and visionary project that we are excited and proud to be a part of.” said the Director of Scientific Solutions at CLC bio, Dr. Roald Forsberg.

The results, including analysis and identification of the unique variants of the Arab genome compared to African, European and Asian genomes, have been accumulated. The data are currently confidential but will be released following publication.

What is the impact of this project?
One of the most important goals of modern medicine and genetic research is the goal of tailoring medical care to an individual’s needs, based on information from the individual’s genotype or gene expression profile, so-called personalized medicine. Personalized medicine can offer huge advances in medical care but can only succeed if the genetic variation of humans can be accurately mapped.

The advent of a new generation of experimental techniques, has now given biomedical researchers the opportunity to map the complete genetic variation of large numbers of humans via full genome sequencing. The data produced from such efforts will provide an unparalleled amount of information that can be used to distinguish the unique groups within the human race, and help tailor medical care that targets the specific needs of different populations and individuals. Personalized medicine is thus on the brink of a major breakthrough.

However, the projects scheduled so far have aimed at characterizing mainly three populations - Africans, Europeans and Asians. This means that an accurate characterization and discovery of genetic variation in the Arab people can not be immediately expected and that the Arab populations may receive less of the benefits that will follow the advancement of personalized medicine.

This is why the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wanted to start building an Arab human genomics database now, in order to scientifically explore the unique genetic composition in the Arab world. The database is fundamental in the process of analyzing and recognizing the distinct genetic makeup of Arabs, which in turn can provide knowledge to help stratify disease status, select between different medications and tailor their dosage, provide a specific therapy for an individual’s disease, or initiate a preventative measure that is particularly suited to that patient at the time of administration.

His Royal Highness Prince Ahmad bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Head of the Board of Directors at Saudi Biosciences, said “The Arab world was never an active participant in the large international projects in the field of genomics, and we believe that this should change. Working with an international collaborator such as Beijing Genomics Institute, an advanced institute in genomics studies, and CLC bio, the leaders in bioinformatics solutions with their recently released CLC Genomics workbench, we plan to participate actively in international efforts towards understanding the genomics basis of human diseases.”

About Saudi Biosciences

Saudi Biosciences (SB) is a leading biotechnology company in the Middle East. SB main goal is to  implement personalized medicine concept through studying the variations in Arabic populations. To achieve this goal, SB is sequencing 100 Arab genomes, exploring copy-number variations (CNV) and performing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in collaboration with major institutes in Middle East.

About the Beijing Genomics Institute Shenzhen

The Beijing Genomics Institute Shenzhen (BGI) was founded in 1999. Since June of 2007, BGI has been headquartered in Shenzhen. It achieved international prominence as a center for sequencing the human genome. BGI completed one percent of the human genome for the Human Genome Project and ten percent of HapMap. Today the BGI staff of 500, led by Director Yang Huanming and Director Wang Jian, are in the forefront of genome research. Among other achievements, BGI has sequenced and mapped the rice and silk worm genomes. Current research includes sequencing of the panda genome as well as participation in the International HapMap project and the 1000 Genomes project.

About CLC bio

CLC bio is a world leading bioinformatics solution provider, solely focusing on the development of bioinformatics: software, hardware, data analysis, and custom-designed bioinformatics algorithms.

CLC bio’s mission is to be among the most innovative bioinformatics companies in the 21st century. This is realized through:

• Focusing on Next Generation Sequencing downstream data analysis
• Development of bioinformatics software and hardware based on the latest scientific findings
• User-friendly, integrated and intuitive cross-platform software solutions
• Continuous focus on customer needs and superior customer service
• Frequent product updates including the latest IT technologies and bioinformatics algorithms
• A flexible IT architecture, enabling customers to buy or develop individualized solutions at a reasonable price

Tocris Bioscience (Bristol, UK) announced today the official launch of Target Detective, www.targetdetective.com, a new search facility that connects biological targets to research molecules.

Target Detective represents a significant development for pre-clinical researchers working in the Life Sciences field because for the first time scientists can connect receptor, enzyme, protein and gene data to Tocris products, through comprehensive ‘Target files’.

A Target File consists of a concise summary of the biological target, together with links to external sources of genetic and pharmacological information. Tocris products with activity at each target are listed here allowing rapid identification of the most relevant research tools.

To use Target Detective, start with any of the following biological search terms: Receptor (e.g. CB2), Enzyme (e.g. MEK), Protein (e.g. p53), Gene Name (Human, mouse and rat genes are currently searchable)

The ability to rapidly identify research tools for biological targets in this way is already proving to be extremely popular and at Tocris we are delighted with the response.  We will continue to add Target files and products and in the longer term we hope to make this the most useful resource for Life Science researchers on the internet.