First High-Content Screening and Analysis Solution Being Used by Bio-Pharmaceutical Researchers at EPOPLUS to Identify Off-Target Effects in Live Cells

SOMERS, NY and PITTSBURGH, PA, August 10, 2004 . . .IBM and Cellomics, Inc., a leader in creating software and hardware tools for High Content Screening (HCS), today announced they have launched a customized information technology (IT) solution that allows biopharmaceutical scientists and academic researchers to better understand how potential drug candidates or targets of interest affect cellular function.

The new solution, which allows for high-content screening and in-silico modeling is already being installed at EPOPLUS, GMBH & Co. KG. -- a biopharmaceutical company developing a novel Low-Dose-Erythropoietin therapy likely to have a major affect on the understanding of degenerative diseases, stem cell behavior and cell biology.

“We are very pleased to form this collaboration with IBM and Cellomics -- the world’s leading companies in Information Technologies and High Content Screening ,” said Dr. Ferdinand Bahlmann, president of EPOPLUS.  “The expertise and technology they provide greatly reduce the significant cost associated with screening and evaluating potential cell therapeutics.”

By partnering with Cellomics, IBM is furthering its work in the field of information-based medicine, the process of improving existing pharmaceutical and medical practices with knowledge about the human genome.  The rich contextual data that can be obtained about cellular functions using HCS generates information necessary for modeling and simulation that empowers biopharmaceutical organizations to design more accurate trials, reducing time and cost spent making new drugs.

“In working with Cellomics to build this joint, turnkey solution, we’re able to help organizations like EPOPLUS enhance their cellular research capabilities,” said Mike Svinte, vice president, information-based medicine, IBM.  “By putting this technology together in an out-of-the-box solution, we are hoping to give many more researchers the ability to test potential drug compounds against crucial, contextual information about cell structure, function and interaction.”“In working with Cellomics to build this joint, turnkey solution, we’re able to help organizations like EPOPLUS enhance their cellular research capabilities,” said Mike Svinte, vice president, information-based medicine, IBM.  “By putting this advanced technology together in an out-of-the-box solution, many more researchers will be able to test potential drug compounds against crucial, contextual information about cell structure, function and interaction.”

With the goal of delivering an IT solution that can automate and manage large volumes of data, IBM and Cellomics have combined Cellomics patented High Content Informatics (HCiTM) software with proven servers, storage and management software from IBM.  The resulting HCi Appliance offers a scalable architecture that includes the Tivoli® suite of security compliance products, IBM <eServer>®, user training sessions and:

• Cellomics® Store: an enterprise-level database that stores and manages images and image-related data
• Cellomics HCS Applications Server: provides a middleware layer that enables communication between the database and analysis tools, and establishes a framework for plug-in modules and additional functionality
• vHCSTM Discovery Toolbox: offers users a full suite of tools to manage, analyze and visualize HCS data from any licensed HCS instrument, including the KineticScan® HCS Reader and ArrayScan® VTI HCS Reader

“High-content screening generates hundreds of data points per cell.  This vast amount of data needs to be properly managed, stored, archived and protected if researchers are to benefit from cellular information,” saysR. Terry Dunlay, vice president of informatics at Cellomics.  “Cellomics’ innovative technology allows researchers to analyze and interpret data, and IBM supports this technology and ensures it operates at peak performance by providing industry expertise and robust, security-rich servers and data management storage solutions.”

About EPOPLUS

EPOPLUS Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing a novel low dose Erythropoietin treatment for organ regeneration. The company was founded in May 2004 by Professor Dr. Hermann Haller and Dr. Ferdinand Bahlmann.  Dr. Bahlmann has since established a wealth of expertise in stem cell research that led to the development of low dose Erythropoietin Therapy based on the proprietary intellectual property.

About IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences

IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences brings together IBM resources, from research, services and e-business expertise to data and storage management and high-performance computing, to offer new solutions for the life sciences market, including biotechnology, genomic, e-health, pharmaceutical and agri-science industries. The fastest way to get more information about IBM Life Sciences is through its Web site,
http://www.ibm.com/solutions/lifesciences.

About Cellomics

Cellomics, Inc. is automating drug discovery through a unique, cell-based assay platform that addresses the needs of Drug Discovery and Systems Biology groups by offering complete systems for High Content Screening (HCS). The platform includes HCS instrumentation (both fixed end-point and kinetic systems), informatics, cellular image analysis software (BioApplications), fluorescent reagents, kits, cell lines, and multiparametric assays. When applied to early drug discovery, this platform is proving to reduce the 'idea-to-discovery' cycle time in drug discovery, while increasing the probability of the therapeutic success of leads as well as enhancing throughput in systems biology and basic research. Cellomics’ proprietary platforms, including the ArrayScan and KineticScan HCS Readers, along with BioApplications software and High Content Informatics (HCi) suite, are in use at multiple sites within all of the top fifteen pharmaceutical companies, as well as leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and academic centers globally. For more information about Cellomics, please visit http://www.cellomics.com

For further information, contact:

Judy P. Masucci, Ph.D.
Director of Marketing
Cellomics, Inc.
100 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
412-770-2200 x 2353
412-770-2450 (fax)