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Satyam planning foray into bioinformatics

Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India's fourth-largest software exporter, plans to make a foray into the booming bioinformatics sector by partnering with the state-run Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.

Satyam and CCMB will work together for five years to identify global business opportunites for information technology-enabled (IT) services in bioinformatics and related fields, Satyam said in a statement.

"Bioinformatics is an area with significant potential for providing IT services globally," says B Rama Raju, managing director, Satyam.

The federal government-run CCMB is India's leading research organisation in modern biology. Satyam and CCMB are headquartered in Hyderabad, an emerging technology centre.

Bioinformatics, which makes use of computers to extract and interpret biological information, is increasingly becoming an attractive prospect for IT companies worldwide.

Globally, hardware and software companies are queuing up to service the fast-growing life science sector with customised software.

Satyam and CCMB will offer product solutions to clients who are keen on doing gene research, pharmaceutical research, drug discovery process and genetically engineered molecules in the health care sector.

Satyam will set up a business unit specifically for bioinformatics and allied disciplines.

Biotechnology, pharmaceutical and agrochemicals companies share the same requirement for supercomputing power, data storage and specialised software programs as they strive to apply genomic discoveries to new products.

CCMB carries out research in modern biology and is working on research in new areas such as gene therapy and the human genome using advanced DNA technologies. It also has a bioinformatics centre which was started in 1986.

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