GOVERNMENT

CARY, NC -- SAS Institute, a leader in business intelligence, has strengthened its focus on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. It has absorbed iBiomatics, a wholly owned subsidiary that provides innovative technology and strong domain experience in biomedical informatics. As part of this reorganization, all iBiomatics products, which include regulatory-compliant Web-based solutions for drug discovery, development and marketing, are being rebranded and marketed as SAS(R) products. Many former iBiomatics employees are joining SAS, adding to the market expertise of the company, which will benefit SAS customers. SAS will sell and support iBiomatics solutions, which will be tightly integrated into SAS' industry-leading solutions. Current iBiomatics customers will receive product support from SAS. SAS is reportedly the dominant solutions provider to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Companies use SAS to prove the safety and efficacy of drugs under development and to deliver electronic submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This market is expanding as recent scientific advances, including the mapping of the human genome, create more data than ever before. "The amount of data generated and collected by pharmaceutical companies is threatening to overwhelm traditional R&D systems," said Steve Shaha, CEO of the Institute for Integrated Outcomes, a technology analyst firm that specializes in the pharmaceutical industry. "Most companies have outgrown their existing systems already and are beyond struggling. They need a way to warehouse, manage and analyze discovery and clinical data more efficiently and effectively, or they will not be able to grow profitably and aggressively. A single vendor that provides solutions for these vital tasks would benefit the industry." According to Jim Davis, SAS senior vice president and chief marketing officer, SAS is responding to challenges faced by the industry. "We made this move to support our customers better," he said. "Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies need to share information more easily within their own organizations and between partners. They're looking for a single-source provider to deliver this intelligence in unified, regulatory-compliant solutions. That provider is SAS." SAS will build on the initiatives provided by iBiomatics. "iBiomatics designed solutions to satisfy critical business issues faced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies," said Keith Collins, senior vice president and chief technology officer for SAS. "We will draw on the deep resources of SAS and deliver targeted, innovative solutions that will help these companies gain market approval and market share for their products faster than ever before." With the added pharmaceutical domain expertise, SAS will enhance existing solution offerings, such as marketing automation and business performance measurement, for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. SAS has bolstered its staff in sales, marketing, R&D, professional services and related support areas. Most of the 67 employees of iBiomatics are now working at SAS. Angela Lightfoot, who was director of biomedical informatics at iBiomatics, has been named pharmaceutical practice director at SAS North America. Laurie Rose, industry marketing director for SAS, will head worldwide marketing efforts. Andrew Fagan has been named director of clinical software research and development, the position he held at iBiomatics. Russ Wolfinger, director of genomics at SAS, will lead genomic and discovery software research and development. For more information visit www.sas.com