Siemens and Biomax Informatics Announce Strategic Alliance in Gene Expression Simulation

Siemens AG Corporate Technology, Munich, and Biomax Informatics AG, Martinsried, announced their strategic alliance in the area of gene expression modeling and simulation. The companies combine their complementary and unique technologies to allow scientists to go beyond common numeric analysis of their gene expression data. Now, for the first time, gene expression research can be simulated.

BioSim, developed by Siemens, recognizes interrelated dependencies within gene expression data, which can now be used for planning experiments. Subsequently, correlations uncovered in the simulation are placed in a relevant functional and biological context using the Biomax BioXM(TM) Gene Expression Analysis Tool. These steps allow underlying biological mechanisms to be elucidated.

The particular strength of the new method is the possibility to simulate changes the expression of individual genes and monitor the affect on the expression of other genes. In this way, scientist can plan data acquisition more rationally, thereby minimizing experimental efforts.

“We are excited to see this technology, which is based on our long-time experience in bayes networks and statistical models, being successfully applied in the biomedical field and opening new approaches for the better understanding of complex diseases,” says Prof. Schuermann, head of Neural Computation at Siemens Corporate Technology. “Combining excellence in bioinformatics and theoretical data modeling is a compelling example of optimizing research for the benefit of patient care. Experiments that can not yet be performed in vivo can now be done in silico,” says Klaus Heumann, CEO of Biomax.

About Siemens Corporate Technology

Siemens is a global powerhouse in electrical engineering and electronics. The company has 417,000 employees working to develop and manufacture products, design and install complex systems and projects, and tailor a wide range of services for individual requirements. Siemens provides innovative technologies and comprehensive know-how to benefit customers in 190 countries. Founded more than 150 years ago, the company is active in the areas of Information and Communications, Automation and Control, Power, Transportation, Medical, and Lighting. In fiscal 2003 (ended September 30), Siemens had sales of EUR 74.2 billion (U.S. GAAP) and net income of EUR 2.445 billion.

In the fiscal year 2002/2003, Siemens invested EUR 5.1 million in research and development – which amounts to more than EUR 23 million per work day. Worldwide, approximately 50,000 researchers and developers work on the newest technologies. With 42,000 current patents, the company is a world leader. Within the corporate department, Corporate Technology (CT), over 1,700 employees work worldwide on key and profile technologies that have a significant role in managerial areas. In addition, CT is responsible within Siemens for global patent management, environmental protection and work with international standardization bodies as well as for the Corporate Information Research Center. Further information about CT is available in the Internet at www.ct.siemens.com .

About Biomax

Biomax Informatics AG (Martinsried, Germany), a leader in the development of customized bioinformatics solutions, was founded in 1997 as a spin-off of the GSF-MIPS academic research group, now the German Research Center for Environment and Health Institute for Bioinformatics (GSF-IBI). Founded by Dr. D. Frishman, Dr. K. Heumann and Prof. Dr. H. W. Mewes, Biomax developed the well-known Pedant-Pro(TM) Sequence Analysis Suite, the HarvESTer(TM) EST Assembly and Clustering System, and other bioinformatics tools used in metabolic pathway, proteomics, and gene expression analyses. For more information, visit the websites www.biomax.com  (worldwide) and www.biomaxsolutions.inc  (USA).

About the BioXM(TM) Gene Expression Analysis Tool

The BioXM Gene Expression Analysis Tool is a universal data-management platform for the integrated analysis and administration of gene and protein experimental data. The software uses data from different experiments for combined analysis. Custom reports integrate public and proprietary information. A user-defined controlled vocabulary allows consistent annotation. Analysis-spanning queries can be performed.

Biomax, BioXM, Pedant-Pro, and HarvESTer are registered trademarks of Biomax Informatics AG in Germany and other countries. Registered names, trademarks, etc., used in this document, even when not specifically marked as such, are not to be considered unprotected by law. All other products or company names are used for identification purposes only, and may be the trademarks of their respective owners.