ALTANA Pharma AG Licenses MetaCore From GeneGo

ALTANA Pharma AG Licenses MetaCore From GeneGo ST. JOSEPH, Mich., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- GeneGo, Inc., a leading provider of software and databases for systems biology, today announced that ALTANA Pharma AG has licensed MetaCore(TM). MetaCore(TM) is a comprehensive platform that contains proprietary, manually curated, human data that is curated by GeneGo's staff of PhD's following strict quality control guidelines. The database architecture is flexible, which allows changes to be made quickly and makes integration straight forward. This was a key component to ALTANA when choosing a systems biology platform. MetaCore(TM) also has a software component that allows for concurrent visualization of multiple types of data. GeneGo has led the way in systems biology to allow more than just microarray data to be visualized in the context of pathways. "We will use MetaCore(TM) for biological interpretation of genomics data and hypothesis generation," said Timo Wittenberger, Ph.D., leader of the bioinformatics group at ALTANA Pharma. "Our aim is a more profound understanding of patho-mechanisms which will allow us to develop more innovative drugs. MetaCore(TM) helps us here by representing our data in the context of public knowledge." "We are pleased to have more international companies using MetaCore(TM) based on its comprehensive coverage and its flexible architecture that will allow them to integrate MetaCore(TM) in to their current environment," said Tatiana Nikolskaya, Ph.D., President and CSO of GeneGo. "ALTANA is known for its research in the areas of gastrointestinal and respiratory indications and we are pleased that they are using MetaCore(TM) to provide more insight to their drug discovery effort in these areas." About GeneGo GeneGo is a Michigan-based company developing systems biology technology for life science research. The original computational platform allows an integration and expert analysis of different kinds of experimental data (mRNA expression, proteomics, metabolites, phenotypic data etc.) and relevant active chemistry (metabolites, drugs, other xenobiotics) within the framework of biological pathways and networks. GeneGo's flagship product, MetaCore(TM), assists pharmaceutical scientists in the areas of target selection and validation, identification of biomarkers for disease states and toxicology. The second product, MetaDrug(TM) is designed for prediction of human metabolism and toxicity for novel small molecules compounds. MetaBase(TM) represents the knowledge base for MetaCore(TM). For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.genego.com. MetaCore(TM), MetaBase(TM) and MetaDrug(TM) are trademarks of GeneGo, Inc. About ALTANA Pharma ALTANA Pharma AG is the pharmaceutical division of ALTANA AG, headquartered in Konstanz, Germany. The international pharmaceutical group employs more than 8,200 people in 30 subsidiaries and is present in markets in Europe, North and South America, Asia, South Africa and Australia. In 2003, the company achieved sales of about Euro 2 billion, up 6% from 2002. ALTANA Pharma concentrates on innovative pharmaceutical products in therapeutics, imaging (contrast media) and OTC medication. Therapeutics, the most important business area, is based on prescription drugs for gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Research focuses on gastroenterology, respiratory/inflammation and oncology. Source: GeneGo, Inc. CONTACT: Julie Bryant, VP Business Development and Marketing of GeneGo, Inc., +1-858-756-7996, julie@genego.com Web site: http://www.genego.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment