INDUSTRY

GeneGo today announced that its MetaCore software application has achieved GeneChip-compatible status with the Affymetrix Inc. GeneChip microarray platform and that it has joined the Affymetrix GeneChip-compatible Applications Program, which provides customers with a broad spectrum of software solutions for biomedical research and development. As a GeneChip-compatible software provider, GeneGo is committed to seamlessly integrating its MetaCore platform with the Affymetrix GeneChip platform. MetaCore has worked with Affymetrix probe IDs since the product's launch in March 2004, alongside with a number of other conventional identifiers. Upon parsing, microarray expression data is visualized and analyzed in the context of pathways, biological networks and cellular processes, using the manually curated knowledge base of over 4.5 million findings. MetaCore supports parsing species specific arrays for human, rat, mouse, yeast, worm, fly and chicken, as well as specialty arrays such as Affymetrix tox chips. MetaCore also has the unique ability to visualize multiple gene expression, genetic and proteomic data sets concurrently. "Affymetrix is a clear market leader in microarray technology and we make it a priority that our products work seamlessly with the content of their GeneChip microarrays. Currently, we map more Affymetrix probes on pathways and networks than any other data mining platform," said Julie Bryant Vice President of Business Development. "We work in close contact with the Affymetrix team to keep on top of their development and new products." "Pathway analysis and annotation represents a critical link between microarray data and biomedical utility," said Steve Lincoln, Vice President of Informatics at Affymetrix. "We are pleased to be working with GeneGo in integrating our platforms, allowing our mutual customers to get the most from their GeneChip data."