SGI Supports Merck Research Efforts

SGI Supports Merck Research Efforts
International Pharmaceutical Company Installs Mix of SGI Servers, Workstations,
Storage Subsystems and Software for Integration of Informatics and Molecular
Profiling 


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 24  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Department of
Bioinformatics at Merck & Co., Inc. has turned to SGI to support ongoing
informatics efforts at its Merck Research Laboratories (MRL). The global,
research-driven pharmaceutical company has installed two SGI(R) Origin(R) 3000
family of servers for complete integration of informatics and molecular
profiling into basic and pre-clinical research.

The high-performance computing systems support several projects in sequence
informatics, molecular profiling, proteomics, research genetics and toxicology
for Merck research programs in the areas of metabolic disorders, neuroscience,
infectious diseases and oncology.

The complete installation of new equipment in October includes one 256-processor
Origin system and one 32-processor Origin server. They are augmented by SGI(R)
InfiniteStorage with 10TB of disk, a mix of 10 Silicon Graphics(R) Octane(R) and
Silicon Graphics Fuel(R) workstations, four SGI(R) Origin(R) 300 servers, one
SGI(R) Altix(TM) 3000 server with 12 Intel(R) Itanium(R) processors and 300
seats of Platform LSF from SGI software partner Platform Computing.

MRL will use the servers, SGI(R) TP9500 disk subsystems and large-memory
bandwidth to enhance scientific computing, allowing Merck scientists to pursue
solutions that were not previously possible.

Bioinformatics scientists at the ten Merck research centers around the world,
some of which have their own SGI(R) systems, are running searches against the
approximately 300 protein and nucleic acid databases mirrored on the
department's high-speed disk storage arrays, including publicly available
databases. Jobs run at the data center range from simple searches that take a
few seconds to major tasks that can take as long as 24 hours.

Merck & Co., Inc., headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, conducts
research at 10 major research centers in the United States, Europe, and Japan,
manufactures products in 32 facilities and has operations in more than 60
countries. Merck's leading products worldwide are treatments for high blood
pressure, cholesterol management, arthritis and pain, osteoporosis and asthma.

"We are pleased with Merck's selection of SGI technologies for these complex
computational tasks, since SGI solutions are for the support of critical
healthcare research and discovery processes," said SGI Market Strategy Senior
Director Bill Bartling, who oversees the company's sciences applications. "We've
been working with Merck's Department of Bioinformatics since it was founded in
1994, and we look forward to continuing our close working relationship for many
years to come."

SGI, a leader in the life sciences community for more than 15 years, delivers
computational solutions for life and chemical sciences discovery research
organizations in pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, academic and national
labs. For further information, visit http://www.sgi.com/go/chembio, and for
details about SGI's Origin and Altix servers and superclusters, visit
http://www.sgi.com/servers/.

SILICON GRAPHICS | The Source of Innovation and Discovery(TM)

SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is the world's leader in
high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to
provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative
breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain
surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate or enabling the
transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing
the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users. SGI
was named on FORTUNE magazine's 2003 list of "Top 100 Companies to Work For."
With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.,
and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com/.

NOTE:  Silicon Graphics, SGI, Origin, Octane, Silicon Graphics Fuel, the SGI
cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and Altix, and The Source of
Innovation and Discovery are trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United
States and/or other countries worldwide. . Intel and Itanium are registered
trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and
other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their
respective owners.

CONTACT:  Marla Robinson, [phone], or , or SGI PR HOTLINE,
[phone], or SGI PR FACSIMILE, [phone], all of SGI.

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CONTACT:  Marla Robinson, [phone], or , or SGI PR

HOTLINE, [phone], or SGI PR FACSIMILE, [phone], all of SGI



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