ST. JOSEPH, Mich., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- GeneGo, Inc., a leading provider of software and databases for systems biology, today announced that Velcura Therapeutics(R), Inc. has licensed MetaCore, GeneGo’s manually curated pathways database and data mining suite. All Velcura employees will have access to the MetaCore database and suite of software tools for three years to focus on bone related disease research. Velcura researchers will be using MetaCore for analysis of gene expression, proteomic, and other data related to human bone formation.
“We spent quite some time evaluating systems biology platforms and were impressed by the depth and breadth of the MetaCore knowledge base,” said Dr. Daniel Chagnovich, Director of Research Operations for Velcura. “MetaCore has impressive coverage of signaling and metabolic pathways and in-depth disease and tissue-specific data that is invaluable for our research. In addition, MetaCore has a flexible and powerful front-end that allows our bench scientists to integrate multiple data streams and algorithms to fully mine our bone therapy data.”
“We are very pleased to have Velcura as a new GeneGo customer,” said Julie Bryant, Vice President of Business Development at GeneGo. “High-throughput experimentation matures fast, and nowadays researchers deal not only with gene expression, but also individual DNA variability, protein abundance and isoforms content, changes in body liquid metabolic profiles and high content drug screening data. To be able to visualize and analyze such diverse datasets, we have built a comprehensive database of direct interactions between genes, proteins, enzymes, metabolic by-products and cell-regulators in human and other mammals. Velcura researchers will be able to directly access this content and use it in projects via their MetaCore license.”
About GeneGo
GeneGo develops 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, metabolomics, siRNA and other phenotypic data) and relevant bioactive chemistry (metabolites, drugs, other xenobiotics) within the framework of curated biological pathways and networks. GeneGo’s flagship product, MetaCore 2.5, 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, toxicity and biological effects for novel small molecules compounds. MetaBase(TM) represents the knowledge base for MetaCore. 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 Velcura Therapeutics(R), Inc.
Velcura Therapeutics(R) is a U.S. biotechnology company focused on developing drugs that stimulate bone formation. Velcura grows human bone outside the body and analyzes this process to develop novel therapies for osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Velcura’s scientists have used its rapid human-cell based platform technologies to identify the 1,250 genes in the human genome associated with new bone formation; they have consolidated industry knowledge to create a custom DNA microarray (OsteoChip(TM) making it possible to more quickly identify drug leads for the development of bone disease therapies. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company received $3.3 million in funding from the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor in 2002 and more than $3.8 million from the National Institutes of Health. Velcura’s first drug for the treatment of bone diseases such as osteoporosis is entering clinical trials in 2006. For more information, visit www.velcura.com.
OsteoChip(TM), and Velcura Therapeutics(R) are trademarks of Velcura Therapeutics, Inc, Inc.
GeneGo, Inc.
CONTACT: Julie Bryant, VP Business Development and Marketing of GeneGo,Inc., +1-858-756-7996, julie@genego.com
