SAN DIEGO, CA -- Entropia, Inc., a pioneer in providing PC-based distributed computing technology, today announced the evaluation of its distributed computing platform by leading healthcare company Novartis (NYSE: NVS). The pilot program will demonstrate how the existing network of PCs at Novartis can be transformed into a high-performance compute engine to accelerate drug discovery research. The pilot will be supported locally by Entropia's European office in Cambridge, England. Entropia's distributed computing technology harnesses the unused processing cycles of networked PCs and applies them to solving large, computationally intensive problems. The average PC sits idle as much as 90% of the time, even while running typical software applications. Companies can leverage the considerable untapped power of their PCs across the enterprise to run large applications without having to invest in additional hardware or IT staff. The Entropia platform is scalable from just a few machines to thousands and even millions of PCs, providing computational power far beyond that of the fastest supercomputers. "The vast quantities of data involved in the genomic era of drug discovery are quickly outpacing advances in computing technology," said Robert North, Entropia CEO. "Distributed computing allows companies to cost-effectively access the massive computing power they'll need by using their existing PC networks. It's quite exciting that companies like Novartis are deploying our platform to demonstrate the potential of distributed computing as a valuable tool in drug discovery efforts." Entropia, Inc.’s distributed computing technology harnesses the vast unused processing power of PCs on corporate networks and over the Internet. The technology, scalable to millions of PCs, delivers computing power surpassing supercomputers at a fraction of the cost. Companies can achieve this power using the PCs they already own, dramatically increasing the ROI on their computing investment. Commercial applications include critical medical and pharmaceutical research, financial services, product development, shipping route optimization and more. Entropia also powers AIDS research (www.FightAIDSathome.org) and economic research (www.safermarkets.org) on its public Internet computing grid. Founded in 1997, the company has offices in San Diego and Cambridge, England. For more information visit www.entropia.com