Seattle, WA - VizX Labs, LLC today announced that it has acquired Neobase, Inc. to develop an integrated suite of bioinformatics software for researchers who desire ease-of-use and power in the laboratory while performing microarray experiments. The merged companies will operate under VizX Labs, LLC. Their first microarray software product will be commercially introduced in Spring 2002.

Under terms of the acquisition, VizX Labs purchased Neobase assets for an undisclosed sum of cash and stock. Neobase assets include beta-stage microarray analytical software as well as two commercial applications, OrderMaker™ and OrderMakerPro™ software. VizX continues to support both products and will market OrderMakerPro, a productivity tool that aids research laboratories in ordering supplies and tracking budget expenditures. Going forward the company will focus its efforts on microarray software.

"This merger dramatically strengthens our research and development capabilities and enables us to develop products on both the front and back ends of the microarray experiment process," said Tom Ranken, president and CEO of VizX Labs. SEE FIGURE 1. VizX product development encompasses two microarray application areas: .

• In the Spring of 2002, VizX will introduce a platform-independent web-based microarray analytical system customizable for data collection and management. Combining power with user-friendly features for high productivity, this expression array software includes many high-end features: an intuitive interface that can be customized to individual laboratories; user preferences for organizing, archiving and annotating bioinformatic research data; and support for remote collaboration, including multiple levels of password-protected user access and system administration.

  The product enables a laboratory worker to load data -- including microarray image files -- into a VizX-developed database. Each database can be backed up automatically, kept secure and made accessible from any web-enabled computer system worldwide. The supporting software architecture makes for simple and straightforward installation, maintenance and database management, and lower overhead costs. SEE FIGURE 1 - NEOBASE FOCUS: "BACK END", INTERPRET EXPERIMENT .

• In development is an application that optimizes probe and microarray experiment design to provide genomic researchers with a single point-of-reference that coherently integrates proprietary and public domain data. The design application measures data quality; guides optimal results and informed tradeoffs; and provides experimental validation and guidance to the researcher performing microarray experiments. SEE FIGURE 1 - VIZX FOCUS: "FRONT END", PREPARE CHIP

Underlying all applications in the VizX suite of products is a data management platform, which enables researchers to increase productivity through the ready exchange of data between bioinformatics tools and systems already available in a laboratory, including VizX and other vendors' software products.

With 40 combined years of research experience from the University of Washington, NeoBase founders Jeff Kozlowski and Eric Olson, PhD, and partner Bob Livingston, PhD, have joined Tom Ranken, VizX president and CEO and Bob Cottingham, chief technology officer, and staff.

VizX Labs develops software systems for the acquisition, management and analysis of molecular biology data and information. These products enable life scientists to readily incorporate sophisticated data management and computational analysis into their research efforts resulting in improved quality and productivity in experiment design and decision-making processes.

Editor's note: A graphic, "Steps in a Microarray Experiment," may be viewed online at: http://www.vizxlabs.com/microarraysteps.html. The VizX Labs press kit is archived at: http://www.vizxlabs.com/newsroom.html