GeneBio Unveils Phenyx, the Innovative Software Platform for Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Data Analysis (In Japanese)

Geneva, Switzerland - May 19, 2004 - Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) S.A. today announced its new product, Phenyx, a software platform for the identification and characterization of proteins and peptides from PMF and tandem-MS mass spectrometry data.

Developed by GeneBio in collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) and incorporating the true probabilistic and flexible scoring system OLAV developed at GeneProt Inc., Phenyx is specifically designed to meet the challenging demands of both high-throughput MS data analysis and dynamic high quality assessment of results.

"We are very excited about the release of Phenyx as we believe it fulfills a need currently unrealized in the proteomics market," said Nasri Nahas, CEO of GeneBio. "Our undertaking to offer proteomics scientists the right tools for their protein identification and characterization research has seen an increasing commitment over the last five years. Working closely with proteomics scientists to understand their current challenges and expectations, we have, together with our strategic partners, shaped a unique offering that combines innovative ideas with existing developments in order to devise what we believe will be the next generation of software for MS protein characterization. We hope Phenyx will meet our clients' expectations and have a positive impact on future proteomics research."

In an attempt to address the complexity and heterogeneity of proteomics research, Phenyx provides a family of scoring functions that can be tailored not only as function of the MS instruments, but also according to specific instrument running conditions, spectra processing parameters, sample preps and protocols, thus allowing optimal result significance. Phenyx's many features, including dynamic data and results evaluation, inherent database access to support complex workflows and solid architecture available in multiple environments, will undoubtedly lead scientists to a higher level of protein characterization.

Ensuring a comfortable experience for end-users was a top priority for GeneBio in realizing Phenyx. Using a unique freely downloadable Java interface, and upon registering with a user name and password, end-users can either connect to the freely accessible calculation engine hosted by GeneBio or purchase a local calculation engine in order to submit, visualize and evaluate results in a seamless fashion.

"The introduction of Phenyx is another example of the combined scientific ingenuity and market savvy of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) and GeneBio," said Prof. Ron D. Appel, Chairman and Scientific Founder of GeneBio and Head of the Proteome Informatics Group at the SIB. "We have a unique symbiosis that allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of both individual academics and commercial institutions, thereby allowing us to really understand the needs of the proteomics market. Our combined entities can then devise solutions for these needs in a more nimble manner than that usually found within the industry."

GeneBio will be present at the ASMS conference in Nashville, TN, from May 23rd to the 27th at booth #75 to provide a product demo and answer questions about the very near future availability of Phenyx as well as the rest of its product portfolio.

For more information about Phenyx, please visit www.genebio.com/phenyx.