INDUSTRY

GNI, the international biopharmaceutical company and leader in the field of integrated systems pharmacology, last week launched the GNI Systems Pharmacology Research Institute in Fukuoka. The new facility will integrate the gene network analytical work being conducted at GNI's Kurume Research Laboratory with the GNI research group at Kyushu University, and support their activities with new in-house supercomputers. The GNI Systems Pharmacology Research Institute, which combines biochemical experimentation with systems-science based technologies to analyze drug affected pathways in human cells, is located at the Fukuoka System Large Scale Integration (LSI) Multipurpose Development Center. Utilizing specialized supercomputers and vast quantities of GNI proprietary gene regulation data from human cells, the Center is capable of quickly analyzing the regulatory networks across the human genome that determine responses to drugs and drug candidates. This capability allows GNI to develop safer drugs with fewer side effects and to quickly discover effective and low-risk drug target genes. GNI's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and founder, Dr. Christopher Savoie, said, "We are delighted to launch the GNI Systems Pharmacology Research Institute, which will operate at the heart of the collaboration between GNI's laboratories at the University of Cambridge in the UK and its research departments within Shanghai Genomics in China to further advance GNI's global drug development capabilities. GNI's ability to combine leading capabilities in semiconductors, supercomputers and nanotechnology in Japan with innovative Western science and advanced research capabilities in China means that it is pioneering the fusion between LSI and biotechnology R&D activities, an area that is expected to spark major scientific breakthroughs in the near future." Dr. Ying Luo, GNI's President and Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Shanghai Genomics, added, "GNI is an excellent example of a modern biopharmaceutical company that effectively works without international borders to source the best available resources. The combination of R&D and drug discovery work that GNI is undertaking in Shanghai, Cambridge and here in Fukuoka means that the company is well positioned to continue developing and commercializing drugs to serve the medical needs of underserved markets, particularly those in Asia." It is now accepted that systems LSI is critical to the calculation of gene networks. GNI has worked alongside the University of Cambridge, the University of Tokyo and Kyushu University to develop algorithms and experimental data that together comprise a powerful analytical system capable of testing the efficacy of drugs. Using this and other advanced research techniques, the GNI group has been engaged in joint research projects with a number of leading pharmaceutical companies.