Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 10:12:21 +0000
To: Inpharmatica observers <jenny@ala.com>
From: Jenny Lauridsen <jenny@ala.com>
Subject: Inpharmatica installs Europe's largest bioinformatics platform

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For information about Inpharmatica:
Andrew Lloyd
Andrew Lloyd & Associates
+44 1273 675100
allo@ala.com

Dr David Ricketts
Inpharmatica
+44 20 7631 4644
d.ricketts@inpharmatica.co.uk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Inpharmatica installs largest European commercial bioinformatics
processor platform

1,100 Linux processor configuration combines unique software and
operational IT techniques with world-leading science to accelerate
drug discovery through the analysis of protein structures

London, U.K., December 13, 2000--Inpharmatica, a leading innovator in
the application of structural bioinformatics in pharmaceutical
research, announced today that it has more than doubled the power of
its in-house computer facilities. Correctly-used computer power is an
essential part of present and future techniques involved in
discovering the drugs of tomorrow and in analysing the enormous
amounts of data now generated by the Human Genome Project.
Inpharmatica's 1,100 processor system is the most powerful commercial
installation in Europe dedicated to bioinformatics, the use of
computer techniques in drug discovery.

"This substantial upgrade propels Inpharmatica into an even stronger
position in the provision of up-to-date, comprehensive and, above
all, useful information on the human proteome," said Dr Malcolm Weir,
CEO at Inpharmatica. "Our Biopendium information resource that
relates protein sequences to their structure and function is now able
to incorporate all available genome sequence data for analysis. We
can update it more frequently and carry out more and better
customized projects for our clients."

"Historically, companies wanting to do large scale
processing-intensive computing have had to rely on specialist high
performance computing vendors with high-cost proprietary solutions,"
said Pat Leach, IT director at Inpharmatica. "The use of Linux and
the low cost of standard PC components has enabled Inpharmatica to
achieve 'more for less'."

"The key to deploying such large scale scientific compute power is in
the load balancing and systems management," added Leach. "At
Inpharmatica, we have a world class team who have developed unique
methods for distributing and managing many hundreds of thousands of
jobs across thousands of processors."

Inpharmatica's latest upgrade includes:

	300 Dual Intel PIII 700Mhz PC's Rack Mounted
	Sun E4500 - 8 Processor Database Server
	1 Terabyte of Sun A5200 Storage
	Black Diamond Gigabit Ethernet Switching

The configuration is housed in a new computer room at Inpharmatica's
London West End offices close to University College London.

About Inpharmatica:
Inpharmatica, London, develops a unique resource of information
relating protein sequences to their structure and function, the
Biopendium, which the company applies to enhance the productivity of
drug discovery.

Gene sequencing projects have created an overload of data on
potential drug targets.  However, the challenge that pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies now face is how to identify and select
the highest quality targets.  Identification of the best targets can
significantly enhance drug discovery and improve the rates of
attrition during the discovery process i.e. increase the probability
of discovering efficacious and safe new drugs.

Inpharmatica's technologies allow it to look beyond gene sequence
data and focus on the proteins encoded by gene sequences (the
proteome) that are the true drug targets.  The company uses its
proprietary technologies to perform all-by-all analyses of all known
expressed proteins, relating sequences to three-dimensional
structures and thus to functions.  The company is unique in its
ability to consider protein function using sequence/structure
relationships, thus allowing the most suitable drug targets to be
identified. Furthermore, since the binding of drug compounds to their
protein targets is driven by structure, not sequence, the company's
technologies provide new insights into the binding of potential drug
compounds to their targets.

The company applies its capabilities in drug discovery by
establishing collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies.  These collaborations may involve the partner company
taking out a subscription to Biopendium and using this resource
in-house, or involve an exclusive collaboration in a chosen
therapeutic area utilising Biopendium and the know-how residing with
the company's scientific staff and consultants.

Founded in 1998, the company has raised some $6 million in venture
funding through Unibio, 3i and GIMV.  In January 2000 it entered into
a partnership with Parke-Davis (Warner-Lambert) involving a
subscription to and further developments of Biopendium, and in
December 1999 initiated a drug discovery collaboration with Arrow
Therapeutics in the anti-bacterials field.

Contacts:
Dr David Ricketts, Vice President Business Development	Tel: +44
(0)207 631 4644
Pat Leach, IT Director				Fax: +44 (0)207 631 4844
http://www.inpharmatica.co.uk
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