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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / AUGUST 25, 2003; VOL. 2 NO. 34
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Applications:
DRUG DISCOVERY FIRM TO USE
RESEARCH GRID
News that drug discovery firm Targacept Inc. will use thousands of school
computers across Forsyth County to conduct drug research in the middle of the
night means an economic boon for the company.
Because of the cost and time involved in drug development, "grid computing"
is
seen as a cost-saving method, according to Targacept.
Targacept along with software developer Noregon Systems Inc. have linked
their
computers with all the computers in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school
system.
By combining the power of those 4,800 desktop computers, Targacept will
increase its computer research speed by 100 times -- allowing 200 months of
computer research to be done in just September and October as well as cutting
its drug discovery process almost in half by saving six to 30 months of
research time.
The nighttime computer use is not expected to have any effect on the school
computers' functionality during the day, according to Targacept officials.
Two years ago, Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Montreal became the first
small
drug discovery firm known to make the leap into grid computing. Caprion was
only able to make that leap when computer maker Sun Microsystems contributed
computers and software, said Sylvie Langevin, Caprion's director of software
development.
Caprion used grid computing for disease modeling for lung and colon cancer
and
the company cut its research time on drugs it was developing by 30 percent to
50 percent.
Drug giant Pfizer Inc., like Caprion, has done grid computing within its
own
company's walls.
Targacept's plan to take data outside the company has others excited and
concerned.
Targacept executives stress this initiative is a test to try to propel the
company forward. With the help of its community, Targacept is trying to fast
forward its research into the behavior of nitrogen molecules.
Targacept Scientific Director Jeffrey Schmitt said he feels safe because
his
company will be only conducting nonproprietary medical research outside its
walls, and even then it will encrypt its data and Noregon will also help with
customized security measures.
North Carolina is developing the first statewide grid computing system, to
be
called the North Carolina BioGrid. MCNC, a Raleigh-based, state-founded
economic development organization, has made BioGrid available to university
scientists and in six to 12 months will be available to biotech companies,
said MCNC Vice President Mary Walker.
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