Indigo BioSystems Successfully Tests First Globally Accessible CRO Data Integration System

CARMEL, IN--(Marketwire - January 22, 2009) -

Indigo BioSystems, Inc. today announced that it has successfully tested its Rubicon data repository software to interchange data between contract laboratories in China and one of its pharmaceutical clients, a large drug company in the US. The system was used to transfer raw instrument data generated at the CRO laboratory to the pharmaceutical company scientists for integration into drug discovery data analysis systems. The exchange of complex 3-dimensional instrument data is known as an impediment to gain the efficiencies sought by outsourcing to contract laboratories. The size of these files makes the delivery by e-mail nearly impossible; instead, scientists resort to exchanging summary files on paper or PDF files, giving up in the process very valuable information that can be used to make better and faster product decisions. “Our engineering group has tested exchanging files as large as 4 GB,” said Rubicon Product Manager, Dr. Amy Tabert, “the exchanges have been quick and easy and the response time for the users has been reliably fast.”

The CRO integration testing has now involved 50 different scientists in 20 different organizations interchanging hundreds of instrument files. Dr. Randall Julian, President and co-founder of Indigo BioSystems, said, “Rubicon has been used to manage millions of instrument files collected inside drug companies, and now we have shown the same approach helps integrate data collected by outside collaborators. As the industry increasingly relies on contract laboratories for their R&D efforts, mechanisms to exchange instrument data seamlessly and easily become a necessity to obtain the expected value from outsourcing.”

In their quest to find new drugs faster, the industry is looking more carefully for ways to expedite the R&D process. The use of multiple external collaborators, from CROs to academic institutions, serves as a way to accelerate the process. “The expected gains, however, cannot be obtained without the proper exchange of data,” said Mike Lee, President of Milestone Development Services. “What Indigo BioSystems has developed,” he added, “has the potential to deliver the promised efficiencies of outsourcing and the accelerated results the industry is seeking.”

The Rubicon hosted system is now available for use on a service basis with pricing options for both project-based and continuous data requirements.

About Indigo BioSystems, Inc.

Indigo BioSystems, Inc. makes tools that simplify data management, improve data accessibility and allow data interchange in the life sciences. Indigo BioSystems, Inc. was founded in 2004 to provide technology to scientific research organizations allowing them to manage and interchange critical research data. Leading the creation of open format data standards, Indigo BioSystems is also enabling powerful new data analysis techniques in both basic research and regulated drug development. For more information about Indigo BioSystems or Rubicon™, visit http://www.indigobio.com.