|
Madison, Wisconsin
March 30, 2009
DNASTAR® and its German distribution partner, GATC Biotech,
Konstanz, Germany, announced the expansion of its bioinformatics
licensing arrangement with the European Molecular Biology
Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg facility to include DNASTAR’s Next
Generation Sequence assembly tool SeqMan NGen™. This expands the
already existing arrangement between the two organizations where
EMBL had recently renewed its multi-network arrangement for use
of the Lasergene® software for sequence analysis.
Under the terms of the license arrangement, EMBL’s Genomics Core
Facility will have access to the SeqMan NGen and Lasergene tools
for use on a range of projects using multiple sequencing
platforms. While Lasergene continues to be one of the leading
DNA sequence analysis software packages commercially available,
its utility has been enhanced by the addition of the SeqMan NGen
assembly tool to allow it to be used for both conventional and
second generation sequencing types of projects. The company has
reported considerable interest in this “graduate” approach which
permits existing Lasergene users to easily move up to sequence
assembly and analysis of high throughput sequencing platform
data while continuing to use familiar software.
Bob Steinhauser, DNASTAR’s Director of Marketing, commented that
“EMBL has a long history of using DNASTAR’s Lasergene software
for sequence analysis projects. The upgrade to SeqMan NGen for
many of their Next Generation Sequence assembly needs allow
their researchers to work with conventional and Next Generation
Sequence projects with an upgraded version of the software
(Lasergene v8.0 and higher) they have used in the past. This
significantly reduces time needed to become proficient with the
software, giving them more time to delve into the issues of
their specific research projects.”
SeqMan NGen is an assembly tool specifically designed to be used
in large sequencing projects where new Next Generation Sequence
platforms are being used. Its desktop computer focus and ability
to work with a wide range of project assembly sizes due to its
RAM-dependent design. Compatibility with a well-known analysis
software suite, Lasergene, simplifies analysis and user ramp-up
times. The EMBL facility joins a growing list of public and
private organizations that are adopting Next Generation
Sequencing platforms from a variety of manufacturers and that
are realizing the benefits of building on an analysis software
suite in their facility to reduce support time.
About EMBL
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory is a basic research
institute funded by public research monies from 20 member states
(Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and
the United Kingdom) and associate member state Australia.
Research at EMBL is conducted by approximately 80 independent
groups covering the spectrum of molecular biology. The
Laboratory has five units: the main Laboratory in Heidelberg,
and Outstations in Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics
Institute), Grenoble, Hamburg, and Monterotondo near Rome. The
cornerstones of EMBL’s mission are: to perform basic research in
molecular biology; to train scientists, students and visitors at
all levels; to offer vital services to scientists in the member
states; to develop new instruments and methods in the life
sciences and to actively engage in technology transfer
activities. EMBL’s International PhD Programme has a student
body of about 170. The Laboratory also sponsors an active
Science and Society programme. Visitors from the press and
public are welcome.
About GATC Biotech
The company is one of the premier sequence service providers in
Europe. As part of its commitment to providing its customers
with a comprehensive approach to their sequencing and data
analysis needs, they have been a distributor of DNASTAR’s
software products for over 10 years. GATC is located in
Konstanz, Germany and direct sales representation throughout
Europe.
About DNASTAR
DNASTAR, Madison, Wisconsin has been a pioneer in the
development and sales of bioinformatics software used to
increase researcher’s productivity for more than 24 years.
Currently, DNASTAR produces Lasergene, a sequence analysis
software suite; SeqMan NGen for the assembly of second
generation sequence data; GenVision, a data visualization
software application; and ArrayStar, a microarray gene
expression visualization and analysis tool. |
|
