ROCKVILLE, Md., FOSTER CITY, Calif., and ARMONK, N.Y., Celera Genomics Group and Applied Biosystems Group, Applera Corporation businesses, and IBM announced an agreement under which the Applera businesses will use IBM eServer* products and services for support of therapeutic discovery research and online life sciences applications. IBM and the two Applera businesses also are expected to explore potential collaborations on a wide range of initiatives designed to accelerate drug discovery and development by using advanced information technologies. These initiatives include joint research projects to solve complex, computationally intensive problems related to identifying new drug targets, and developing and co-marketing new life sciences solutions based on both companies' products and technologies. "Applera's decision to use IBM's eServer platform to power its next-generation high-performance computing and drug discovery infrastructure speaks volumes about the business value IBM can offer in computing and services," said Caroline Kovac, PhD., general manager of IBM Life Sciences. "But our agreement is much more than a sale. What's equally important is the recognition by both companies that we have complementary technologies and strengths that we can apply toward solving challenging life sciences problems." To achieve its business goals, Applera is deploying a powerful supercomputing infrastructure that will consist of 12 IBM eServer p690* systems running AIX*, IBM's UNIX** operating system. IBM Global Services will provide support services to migrate Applera's massive data center at Celera Genomics' headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, including all research and line-of-business applications, to the eServer platform. Celera Genomics is expected to use the eServer systems in its R&D operations to identify and validate potential drug targets and diagnostic marker candidates based on proteomics, bioinformatics and genomic data. The supercomputing infrastructure will also support Applied Biosystems' Knowledge Business, which includes the exclusive marketing of the Celera DiscoverySystem*** Online Platform, an integrated source of the human genome and other biological and medical data. "Celera's computational needs have evolved along with its changed business strategy," said Tama Olver, vice president and chief information officer, Applera Corporation. "Applied Biosystems has new needs following the formation of its Knowledge Business. The relationship with IBM should enhance our ability to combine the next-generation computational and informatics technologies towards accelerating the drug discovery process and assist us in supporting online customers with new, enhanced services and product offerings." Applera's supercomputing cluster will be delivered in stages, beginning in September. When fully deployed, it will be among the world's fastest systems, with a peak processing capacity of two teraflops, or two trillion calculations per second. The IBM eServer p690 is fueled by the POWER4 microprocessor, a system-on-a-chip design that supplies tremendous power and reliability with comparatively few processors. It offers multiple layers of self-healing technologies that allow the server to continue operating -- even through major power failures and system errors. *AIX, eServer, IBM and p690 are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. **UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Limited. ***Applied Biosystems, Celera, Celera Diagnostics, Celera Genomics, and Celera Discovery System are trademarks or registered trademarks of Applera Corporation.