GenomeQuest 4.0 Upgrade Unifies Public, Patent, Proprietary and In-House Sequence Information, Adds Web 2.0 Links, Feeds, Application Extensions, Tagging, Mashups, and Plug-Ins.

Westborough, Massachusetts - May 1, 2007 – Seeking to expand beyond its commanding market position in gene patent and portfolio management information, GenomeQuest, Inc. is reaching out to biotech researchers with GenomeQuest 4.0, a new, web-enabled platform for genetic sequence data search and analysis. The new version fortifies the company's continuously expanding gene sequence information data set by enabling customers to add their in-house sequence data and annotations, creating a one-source solution for sequence search, content, and analysis. New features for biologists encourage homologous sequence exploration and quickly disclose annotated biochemical and cell signaling information related to sequences of interest. With Web 2.0 architecture and a new Application Programming Interface (API), GenomeQuest 4.0 supports sequence search application add-ons and web application features such as RSS feeds, tags, mashups, plug-ins, and widgets.

"The principal value of the GenomeQuest application will continue to be its large, high-quality collection of gene sequence information," said Ron Ranauro, chief executive officer of GenomeQuest, Inc. "We have more annotations than RefSeq, more sequences than GenBank, continuously refreshed patent sequence data, and many additional sequence records from un-indexed sources that we've scanned in or entered and curated manually. Our new customers are always astounded when they find that they can do an extremely complete search without looking all over the internet for sequence data. The unified data component and search functionality of GenomeQuest 4.0 relieves pain and uncertainty that everyone can relate to, whether their primary interest is intellectual property portfolio management or basic research," added Mr. Ranauro.

To facilitate enterprise deployment and rapid uptake outside the GenomeQuest application's traditional legal-department stronghold, GenomeQuest in version 4.0 has been re-made as a web application with a published API. Every sequence record, search query and result in GenomeQuest 4.0 is a web page with a persistent Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and can be viewed in an internet browser window. GenomeQuest web pages can be bookmarked, linked, tagged, and e-mailed to colleagues. For the latest information and search query results, customers can re-visit the page, refresh it, or simply subscribe to its RSS feed. The new API allows information technology professionals to customize their bioinformatics capabilities and leverage the GenomeQuest data resource by adding in-house applications to their own GenomeQuest installations. GenomeQuest 4.0 complies with web application standards, so customers can create and use GenomeQuest browser plug-ins, widgets, and mashups.

New features in GenomeQuest 4.0 are designed to enable biologists to derive high value from GenomeQuest enterprise deployments. GenomeQuest 4.0 includes the ability to search multiple sequences simultaneously and combine the results in a single report, sequence annotation index expansion to include research-related fields, familiar keyword-based search query construction, sorting and grouping of search results according to search parameters such as gene name and species, and result ranking according to research query relevance.

"Biologists with access to GenomeQuest 4.0 don't have to deal with frustrating BLAST portals that search only certain databases and miss exact matches," said Michael McManus PhD, vice president and general manager of GenomeQuest, Inc. "GenomeQuest 4.0 makes sequence search, content, and analysis all available from just one source. It's no longer necessary to spend weeks scouring the Internet for data, or to master complicated query languages in order to ask a research question in an exact and accurate way."

GenomeQuest 4.0 will be available for on-site enterprise installations under a variety of licensing options based on anticipated use. For sequence search analysts working individually, GenomeQuestLive! is a full-featured, hosted alternative solution accessible over a secure internet connection. GenomeQuest 4.0 and GenomeQuestLive! will be released in the summer of 2007. For installation requirements and licensing information, please send e-mail to or visit http://www.genomequest.com/contact-us.html for the telephone number of the nearest GenomeQuest Inc. sales office.

About GenomeQuest, Inc.

GenomeQuest, Inc. is a leader in biological sequence search, content and analysis. Backed by an automatically-updated database that includes over 137 million sequence records, the company's flagship product, GenomeQuest™ 4.0, is a Web-based search and analysis application that provides scientists and IP professionals with one source for the most comprehensive, accurate and complete sequence information available. Leading life sciences companies and IP law firms rely on GenomeQuest 4.0 to help drive key scientific research and business decisions.

GenomeQuest, Inc., is headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts. For more information, call (508) 616-0100, or visit www.genomequest.com.