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Simulations Plus Inc Releases QMPRPlus Version 3.0

Simulations Plus Inc, a leading provider of oral drug absorption predictive software to the pharmaceutical industry, announced the release of a major upgrade of its QMPRPlus software for predicting critical properties of new drug-like chemical compounds from their molecular structure. QMPRPlus is used by large and small pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan to screen large numbers of potential drug-like molecules in the search for new drugs and to predict properties for absorption simulation.

This new version includes a powerful "4D Data Mining" module that enables scientists to visualize complex relationships among molecules and their properties that affect ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Elimination). The 4D visualization is achieved with a 3D plot and the use of color to convey a fourth dimension of information. The 4D Data Mining Module also incorporates a powerful new mathematical tool that enables researchers to reduce complex molecular data to simpler forms. In addition, Version 3.0 incorporates improved artificial neural network predictions for MDCK cell culture permeability based on new proprietary artificial neural network design and training technologies developed by Simulations Plus, and a larger database of compounds than the original model.

"We continue to advance the state-of-the-art in 'in silico' prediction of ADME properties from molecular structure," said Dr. Michael B. Bolger, director of life sciences for Simulations Plus Inc. "QMPRPlus is noted for providing good predictions of these properties at very fast speeds, with a highly intuitive user interface. Numerous customers have commented on the speed and ease of use of the program, as well as its accuracy in predicting many of the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties that are so important to them. After months of development, we have now further extended its capabilities."

Dr. Robert Fraczkiewicz, software architect of the new 4D Data Mining Module, noted, "The new module adds a capability that we believe is unique in the industry. Our new method, called Chemically Relevant Principal Component Analysis, provides greater insight into what aspects of a molecule's structure are most influential in determining various ADME properties. This new capability will provide guidance for medicinal chemists as they modify molecule designs to find more effective drug candidates."

Ron Creeley, vice president of marketing and sales, noted, "The new 4D Data Mining Module is an additional-cost module that we believe the vast majority of customers will want. It is a powerful new tool in the quest for new drugs. We continue to develop these additional-cost modules as a way to enhance the utility of our products. The module approach allows users to tailor the software to their needs, paying only for what they will use. In most cases, we've found that additional modules become part of both renewal licenses and new orders, contributing to our steadily increasing average order size and revenue growth."

Simulations Plus Inc, www.simulations-plus.com, is a premier developer of groundbreaking drug discovery and development simulation software, which is licensed to and used in the conduct of drug research by major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. The Company has two other businesses, Words+ Inc and FutureLab, which are based on its proprietary software technologies and which provide support for the emerging pharmaceutical enterprise. Simulations Plus Inc is headquartered in Southern California.

Teradata Introduces Teradata Warehouse 6.2 Suite

Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation, represented exclusively in SA by National Data Systems (NDS), has introduced the Teradata Warehouse 6.2 suite, which includes Teradata Warehouse Miner 3.1 data mining software and other enhancements.

Teradata Warehouse 6.2 was designed to enable executives to grow a Teradata enterprise-wide data warehouse in smaller, less cash-intensive increments, phased as the return on investment (ROI) is achieved. At each stage, the Teradata Warehouse 6.2 suite helps executives solve the business problems of how to increase revenue, reduce expenses and identify new business growth opportunities.

"Teradata enables businesses to achieve data warehouse ROI in weeks while the competitors' customers are still struggling to see ROI after months or even years," said Simon O' Hagan, general manager of the Teradata Solutions Group at NDS. "Teradata Warehouse 6.2 now gives IT executives even more flexibility to build a data warehouse at their pace while giving them more control over cash flow. They can align the growth of the data warehouse with the growth of the business to achieve maximum ROI."

"The investment in the Teradata warehouse paid for itself within a year," said Kari Opdal, head of customer relationship management at Union Bank of Norway. "We measured this by the significant lifts in campaign response rates. On average, we moved our direct mail campaign conversion rates from a range of 0.5% to 2% up to a range of 5% to 10%. These results encouraged more areas of the bank, including finance accounting and auditing, as well as IT and marketing, to rely on the data warehouse for data analysis. Today, the data warehouse has become the heart of our organisation with nearly 3 000 users."

The suite includes enhanced tools and utilities combined with the increased capabilities of Teradata Warehouse Miner 3.1 data mining software. Each component of the Teradata suite has been carefully designed for incremental growth and to create a solid foundation on which Teradata data warehousing, data mining and analytic applications can achieve maximum performance.

The analytical power of Teradata Warehouse Miner 3.1 provides companies with data mining capabilities to help plan cross-selling initiatives, tailor marketing campaigns and analyse the effectiveness of customer promotions. One of the enhancements, affinity analysis, enables executives to predict the likelihood of products being purchased together and ending up in the same market basket. With this information, retailers can better plan product offerings.

An additional data-mining enhancement, sequential analysis, offers the capability to look at the relationships of two or more events over time. This provides information about which products are likely to be purchased at the time of the next transaction. For example, if a customer opens a new cheque account at a bank, then the customer may open a savings account followed by a credit card on a future visit.

In 1999, Teradata was the first database vendor to integrate the data mining process into the database engine, thereby leveraging the inherent parallelism and processing power of Teradata. This integration of data mining within a centralized data warehouse streamlined the data mining process and made it possible to mine large volumes of data for the first time with improved accuracy and speed.

In addition, the expertise of the Teradata Professional Services consulting team empowers the IT professional, data miner and business user to work together to build data mining competence regardless of the current level of proficiency. The hands-on mentoring approach of the Teradata consulting team helps businesses be more successful, more quickly.