Schering-Plough Uses GeneMatcher; Paracel's GeneMatcher-Plus Ready

PASADENA, Calif.--Paracel announced that Schering-Plough Research Institute, the pharmaceutical R&D division of Schering-Plough, has installed its GeneMatcher genomic data analysis system. According to Paracel, GeneMatcher uses an array of optimal algorithms designed for sensitive DNA and protein comparisons to perform sequence homology searches much faster than general-purpose computers. Meanwhile, the company has also released major upgrades to GeneMatcher and introduced four complementary software products designed specifically for automated, high-throughput sequence analysis for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and genomics companies. GeneMatcher-Plus is 50 percent faster than its predecessor and includes support for Smith-Waterman, Hidden-Markov Models, Blast, and double frame algorithms. The four new software packages are: TraceTuner; Sequence Filtering and Masking; EST Clustering and Assembly; and a CAP3 module.