INDUSTRY

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Discovering innovative, effective medicines has just become substantially easier and faster for AstraZeneca, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, with the purchase of an SGI(R) (NYSE: SGI) Reality Center(TM) facility for its research and development lab in Sodertalje, Sweden. The facility's new immersive visualization capabilities will empower a variety of drug discovery research projects, with molecular modeling and computational chemistry at the top of the list. AstraZeneca chose SGI Reality Center facility for its high-performance graphics and stereoscopic visualization, as well as the advantages inherent in having researchers working together as a group in front of a large-scale display system -- all of which are important aspects in the drug discovery process. In fact, group decision making and visualization of very large chemical and biological data sets are increasingly important in discovery research. The need to make better decisions earlier is a strong force behind this industry trend. The installation encompasses a one-pipe, two-channel SGI(R) Onyx(R) 300 visualization system with InfiniteReality3(TM) graphics, one LCD and two CRT projectors, and a 15x7-foot (4500x2000 mm) back-projected screen. Such SGI Reality Center technologies create an advanced group decision-making environment for enhanced uses of tools created by leading software vendors such as Tripos, Inc. For example, Tripos' highly regarded SYBYL(R) software platform includes MOLCAD(TM), an application that efficiently maps and provides visualization of a molecule's key surface properties. Together, SGI and Tripos have optimized these technologies to meet AstraZeneca's requirements for the Reality Center facility. "Following the purchase of an SGI Reality Center facility one year ago for our research and development site in Molndal, Sweden, our Sodertalje lab asked SGI to propose a solution for an additional visualization facility, and we worked together on an assessment study," said AstraZeneca Project Leader Sven Hellberg. "The SGI Reality Center facility offers a high level of interactivity with very large visual data sets, such as large molecules, and will greatly enhance the speed of the decision-making process between our cross-collaborative scientific teams." The company's portfolio includes many world leaders for treating cancer (Casodex(R) and Arimidex(R)), gastrointestinal disease (Nexium(R)), asthma (Symbicort(R)), hypertension (Atacand(R)), migraines (Zomig(R)) and schizophrenia (Seroquel(R)). With four new high-potential medicines due for launch in 2002 and 2003 -- two cardiovascular therapies and two cancer treatments -- AstraZeneca is examining the possibility of expanding the SGI Reality Center technologies for future cross-geography and/or cross-site collaboration. "AstraZeneca's purchase of a second SGI Reality Center facility will enable its scientists to continue their groundbreaking drug discoveries, and we look forward to helping them move into the realm of long-distance collaboration," noted SGI's Chodi McReynolds, director, Industry Marketing, Sciences. "SGI Reality Center technologies deliver the highest levels of realism, image quality and performance available today," added SGI Region Manager Mark J.A. Miller, based in Oslo, Norway. "Scientists, researchers and engineers around the world are finding that, with an SGI Reality Center facility, they are immersed in a virtual environment, allowing exploration, understanding and communication about their data in ways not possible in the physical world. This approach helps our customers to arrive at better decisions in less time, providing enormous cost savings while enhancing productivity." SGI Professional Services Sweden served as project manager, designing a cost-effective solution that addressed AstraZeneca's requests in such areas as room design and configuration of the Reality Center facility. The result is an immersive environment that is well ahead of the state of the art in pharmaceutical applications. SGI Professional Services specializes in providing industry-specific consulting, expert technology services and ongoing system support. SGI Reality Center technologies will be demonstrated at an SGI Sciences Visualization Summit to be hosted in Paris, February 3-5. For further information about Reality Center facilities, visit http://www.sgi.com/realitycenter. SGI, which has made a long-term commitment to and has been a leader in the life sciences community for more than 15 years, delivers computational solutions for life and chemical sciences discovery research organizations in pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, academic and national labs. For further details, visit http://www.sgi.com/industries/sciences/chembio/ .