Tata Consultancy Services Launches TATA Bio-Suite, Bioinformatics Software to Facilitate Life Science Research Through Information Technology
Applying the power of information technology to the life science industry’s most complex bioinformatics challenges, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) launched Tata Bio-Suite, a portable, versatile software package for life sciences and drug discovery. The announcement was made at the BIO 2004 Annual International Convention in San Francisco. TCS developed Tata Bio-Suite over the past two years in collaboration with several of India’s leading academic institutes through the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI), a program sponsored by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Tata Bio-Suite is the first of many products being developed by TCS’s life sciences practice.
According to Front Line Technologies, the worldwide market for software and IT services related to bioinformatics will reach US$ 2.6 billion by 2007. Recognizing that bioinformatics will play an increasingly important role in global health care and science, TCS created a bioinformatics division within its advanced technology center, consisting of about 35 persons, of whom nine hold a Ph.D. Several of these persons have a life sciences background. As its first commercial activity, TCS developed Tata Bio-Suite for accelerated drug discovery, custom drug design and individualised health care. Tata Bio-Suite is a comprehensive suite of algorithms and computational methods that addresses all aspects of computational biology in drug discovery, ranging from sequence analysis and comparative genomics to structure-based drug design. Bio-Suite is aimed at small and medium biotech and discovery companies and major pharmaceutical companies, as well as academic and R&D groups.
Typically, large pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical companies with ample resources have handled high-end processing work through in-house IT staff using proprietary software or the Standard Analysis Software System (SASS). Tata Bio-Suite is the first software generally available to the life sciences community as a whole, giving small- and medium-size firms and institutions access to computational resources on par with the proprietary solutions of larger competitors. Developed by a global IT services firm, Tata Bio-Suite is perhaps the only commercially available bioinformatics software product that conforms to the highest levels (CMM-Level 5) of software engineering quality control processes.
Tata Bio-Suite leverages well established algorithms to perform a range of tasks related to computational biology. Subsequent versions of the software are expected to introduce new algorithms developed at TCS’s Advanced Technology Centre in Hyderabad, India, as well as by other collaborating research groups around the world. The current version of Tata Bio-Suite offers eight modules: sequence analysis, genome analysis, comparative genomics, 3D modeling, 3D structure manipulations, structural analysis, simulations and drug design.
“The development of Tata Bio-Suite represents an important stage in the evolution of bioinformatics, in which one of the world’s leading information technology firms has invested the time and commitment to derive solutions to revolutionize life sciences,” said Dr M Vidyasagar, executive vice president and head of TCS’s Advanced Technology Center.
“This IT-driven approach promises to spur rapid progress in drug discovery and to realise the promise of post-genomics biology,” added Mr J Rajagopal, global director of TCS’s life sciences practice.
To date, only research institutions involved with the development of Tata Bio-Suite could participate in beta testing; however, beginning at Bio 2004, TCS will open its beta program to other pharmaceutical firms and academic institutions worldwide.
Dr R A Mashelkar, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, stated “The Tata BioSuite is a beginning of successes for the NMITLI, but a major opening for India in the global bioinformatics field, symbolising the importance of public-private partnerships.”
About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a leading global IT services provider and was the first billion-dollar Indian IT services organization by annual revenues. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has pioneered many of the significant developments in the Indian IT services industry, including the offshore delivery model for IT services.
TCS is a global organization with offices in 32 countries and development canters in 10 countries. TCS offers a comprehensive range of IT services to its clients in diverse industries such as banking and financial services, insurance, manufacturing, telecommunications, retail and transportation. TCS’ clients comprise of some of the world’s largest and well-known organizations. TCS has developed extensive experience in providing end-to-end IT services, integrating multiple technologies and delivering solutions in multiple geographies for its global clients. It is the largest Indian IT services organization in terms of revenues as well as profits.
TCS is part of the Tata Group, which has a heritage of over 135 years as one of India’s leading corporate groups. The Tata Group has interests in a diverse range of industries, and had combined sales of approximately Rs. 542 billion (US$11.8 billion) in fiscal 2003.
For more information on TCS, visit http://www.tcs.com .
(1) CMM, or Capability Maturity Model, is the de facto standard for
assessing and improving software processes, developed by the
Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute. “Level 5” is the
highest maturity level granted to an organization. TCS has 16 CMM
Level 5 development centers worldwide.
