NEW YORK, Feb 15 – Basel, Switzerland-based bioinformatics company GeneData said Thursday that Novartis Pharma had licensed its Expressionist microarray data analysis system.
The multi-year agreement is an extension of an existing collaboration between GeneData and Novartis Pharma’s Basel, Switzerland, research site that began three years ago.
Under the terms of the agreement, GeneData has installed Expressionist at all major Novartis Pharma research sites, where an estimated 2,000 researchers will be able to access it through the Novartis Intranet. GeneData said it integrated the system into Novartis Pharma's global functional genomics data management system.
A GeneData spokesman declined to comment on the financial terms of the agreement.
Expressionist analyzes gene expression data from various microarray technologies, including Affymetrix GeneChips and Incyte GEMs. The system offers technology-specific data quality control and statistical analysis capabilities, according to GeneData.
Several large life science companies have licensed Expressionist, most recently Schering in October and Altana in August.
“Our customers recognize that GeneData Expressionist is the most comprehensive system to analyze large amounts of gene expression data," said GeneData CEO Othmar Pfannes.
GeneData estimates that it will pick up six to ten additional Expressionist licensees in pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotech companies in the coming months.