Santa Clara, CA, February 26, 2002 - Today at the Genome Tri-Conference, Open Channel Software, Inc. and researchers from Wayne State University, unveiled a new software program that automatically correlates gene expression profiles with key biological functions. The bioinformatics tool, called Onto-Express^TM , was designed to significantly reduce the amount of time required to interpret the biology of genetic profiles.

Most of the currently available software tools focus on processing raw data obtained from microarrays and analyzing it to identify a set of genes that are differentially regulated in the condition(s) under study. Once the gene set is obtained however, the researcher must then confront the daunting task of investigating the various functions of individual genes in order to extract biological conclusions. Onto-Express was developed to help the researcher move quickly beyond the data analysis step by providing a tool that would rapidly yield a functional interpretation of the microarray experiment.

Dr. Michael Gieseg, Cancer Pharmacology, Pfizer, was among those who recently tested the product. He said, "I find the major limitation in analyzing gene expression data is the time required to understand the functional significance of interesting genes. With Onto-Express I can functionally group large numbers of selected genes in seconds rather than days. This provides me with more time to think about the gene expression data and I spend less time cataloging."

To appreciate cellular function within normal or diseased tissue, or understand how cells respond to different treatments, an association must be made between genetic profiles and their corresponding biology. Until now, portraying the functionality of genetic profiles involved using a multitude of public databases to 'manually' identify and categorize the role of individual genes. The accuracy of this method is severely compromised by the large amount of information from various databases that needs to be processed. Onto-Express makes these associations automatically - returning to the user a contextual snapshot of hierarchical categories that define the following for specified genetic profiles:

• structural, regulatory or enzymatic functions of the corresponding proteins;
• biological 'objectives' to which the corresponding proteins contribute;
• locations of activity within a cell for the corresponding proteins;
• major biological processes carried out by the corresponding proteins;
• biochemical functions of the corresponding proteins;
• and chromosomal locations of the identified genes.

Depending on the number of sequences to be investigated, Onto-Express can return the results in minutes - orders of magnitude faster than currently used, manual methods.

The basic version (V.1) of Onto-Express is on the Internet at: www.onto-express.org and is available for free access. The advanced product (V.2) has been developed with additional features including a statistical algorithm that determines the confidence levels (p values) of all the hierarchical categories, allowing the user to easily differentiate interesting targets from false leads. Version 2 will be available soon via subscription through Open Channel Software at a reasonable annual rate.

The Java-based product uses strings of UniGene accession or cluster identification numbers - generated by standard microarrays - to create its own list of functional categories. Using a proprietary database that includes relevant public data from sources such as UniGene, GenBank and Ensembl, Onto-Express performs data mining to assemble a clear overview of the genes' functions and relationships. In just minutes, the functional profiles are returned to the researcher using their preferred sorting categories. Onto-Express incorporates the widely accepted vocabulary of the Gene Ontology Consortium and dynamically uploads new entries produced by worldwide collaborators on this effort.

"Onto-Express cuts out the drudgery of gene expression analysis, reducing time to results from weeks down to hours", notes Professor Robert Freedman, Ph.D., Director of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine. "It also allows/enables me to recognize patterns more easily."

Onto-Express was developed by researchers within the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

ABOUT CAMBRIDGE HEALTHTECH INSTITUTE
Established in 1992, Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) services the biotechnical and biomedical markets, by acting as an information resource in an ever-changing environment. Through the organization of scientific conferences, publication of market reports, development of industry databases, and advisory services, CHI offers a one-stop resource for learning about the latest technological developments in life sciences. The Genome Tri-Conference is the premiere event in CHI's Genome Series.

ABOUT OPEN CHANNEL SOFTWARE
Open Channel Software (OCS) is an Internet-based organization that publishes, distributes, and commercializes software created at academic and research institutions, serving as a central clearinghouse for high-quality, technically advanced scientific applications. OCS actively promotes the software that it sponsors, in order to build and maintain a community of involved users. If software has sufficient commercial viability, OCS provides the resources that are required to bring that software to commercial distribution, proactively market it, and offer fee-based support and services to its customers. Please contact OCS by visiting the organization's Website, http://www.openchannelsoftware.org or by phoning 773-334-8177 to learn more about the Open Channel Software, its products and services, or to become a participating author/developer.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Wayne State University is a premier research institution offering more than 350 academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit. To learn more about Wayne State University, please visit the institution's Website, http://www.wayne.edu.