February 23, 2000
Oracle Canada donated $1.2 Million in software, services to The Hospital for Sick Children
Gift to Provide Critical Foundation to Human Genome Research Project
Oracle Corporation Canada Inc. today announced that it has donated $1.2 million-worth in database and tools software and technical support services to The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto to support the hospital’s Bioinformatics program.
Oracle’s gift will be used to restructure the human genome database (GDB), the world’s foremost source of information on human genes, to improve speed and accessibility to important genetic information as the Human Genome Project moves into the post-sequence era and the focus moves to locating disease-causing genes. The arrival of the Oracle software is especially timely because the first draft sequence of the human genome is expected to be completed in the next 12-18 months.
The Hospital for Sick Children took over the maintenance and management of the central node of the GDB in Julyfrom the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, where it was established in 1989. Funding cuts by the U.S. Department of Energy, the GDB’s main funding source, threatened the existence of the project, until SickKids stepped in.
Advances in genetic research depend largely on the ability of the global scientific community to share and access research data. The primary tool used to facilitate the movement and sharing of such data is the GDB, which will now be run on the Oracle8i database.
"The current architecture of the human genome database is built largely with academic (software development) tools that are not supported — nor are they readily extensible," says Dr. Jamie Cuticchia, head of the Bionformatics program at The Hospital for Sick Children. "To efficiently continue to modify the GDB, SickKids must partner with companies providing the best database and tools software.
"Oracle is the most widely distributed database platform in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Its robust and scaleable products will provide GDB with the solution it needs to meet — and hopefully, exceed — its goals and objectives in this critically important area of genetic research."
As the human genome is sequenced in the next year, many discoveries of new human genes will be possible, Dr. Cuticchia believes.
"By working with the Oracle8 database and tools, future versions of GDB will be constructed not only to store these findings, but provide the tools necessary to making these discoveries possible.
"Information relating to the human genome is doubling every eight-10 months. Oracle has provided us with a robust, user-friendly environment that can be easily integrated with other databases, and can be easily accessed through the Internet by other scientists who rely on this repository of information to further their research."
Oracle has donated more than $1.2 million-worth of database, development tools and technical support services. More specifically, the gift includes:
- Oracle8 Enterprise Edition, JServer Enterprise Edition, Intermedia, Diagnostic Pack, Tuning Pack, Change Management Pack, Partitioning Option and Application Server Enterprise Edition for up to 128 concurrent Web users and 64 concurrent network users;
- Enterprise Developer Suite, JDeveloper Suite and Oracle Programmer for two named users; and
- three years of technical support.
Bill Bergen, president of Oracle Canada in Mississauga, says that Oracle is very proud to have the opportunity to work with The Hospital for Sick Children and to play an integral role in the direction forward of the Human Genome Project.
"Bioinformatics will advance immeasurably the pursuit of scientific understanding of the impact of genetics on disease and the ways that they’re cured," Bergen says. "Linking two organizations with such strong reputations in their respective communities will serve to further enhance those reputations, as well as provide the opportunity to showcase their work in the other’s arena."
About The Hospital for Sick Children
The Hospital for Sick Children is one of the largest pediatric academic health science centres in the world, with an international reputation for excellence in health care, research, and teaching. For more than 40 years, the staff of The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute have carried out research which has impacted child health around the world. Their research activities encompass everything from basic research conducted at the laboratory bench to clinical research done at the bedside and out in the community.
About Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is the world’s leading supplier of software for information management, and the world’s second-largest independent software company. With annual revenues of more than US$9.3 billion, the company offers its database, tools, and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in more than 145 countries around the world. In Canada, Oracle services its clients through 13 offices and employs over 1,100 people in major cities across the country. Oracle’s World Wide Web address is www.oracle.com; the Canadian site is www.oraclecanada.com.
Trademarks
Oracle is a trademark of Oracle Corporation. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, contact:
Paul Stulberg Stacey Tessis
National Manager
Corporate Affairs BenchMark Porter Novelli
and Public Relations (416) 423-6605
stessis@bmporternovelli.com
Oracle Corporation Canada Inc.
(905) 501-2461
pstulber@ca.oracle.com
Public Affairs
The Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue
Suite 1742, Public Affairs, First floor Atrium
Toronto,
ON
M5G 1X8
Canada
Phone: 416-813-5058
Fax: 416-813-5328