HEIDELBERG--Lion Bioscience announced last week that it has agreed to purchase the GeneMatcher genetic data analysis system from Pasadena, Calif.-based Paracel. In a separate deal, Lion also licensed its BioScout integrated bioinformatics system for three years to Pharmacia & Upjohn.
Lion will use the Paracel system in genetic sequence characterization as a component of a high-throughput alert system for identifying novel target genes. This new technology will allow users of Lion's BioScout and SRS Life Science Informatics systems to search public and proprietary databases quickly and accurately for genes of interest, on a daily basis, said Lion.
Linking the platforms will allow researchers to screen large volumes of sequence and literature data relevant to industrial gene discovery research, according to Lion. These integrated solutions will enable pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotech companies to maximize the outcome of genomics-based discovery programs in terms of novel and better validated target genes, the company said.
The agreement with Pharmacia & Upjohn calls for Lion to integrate Pharmacia's existing in-house bioinformatics systems with the BioScout platform. The software, which simultaneously accesses information from different private and public genetics databases, will be installed at Pharmacia's research site in Sweden and will be made accessible to its other research sites around the globe. As part of the arrangement, Lion will also provide user support and training for the duration of the contract.