An ecstatic Ms. Anuradha Acharya, CEO of Ocimum Biosolutions and a BioSpectrum Best Entrepreneur 2008 award winner, said, “Bioinformatics is the core of Ocimum’s business and what we originally started the company with. Winning the Best Bioinformatics Company award for the consecutive year proves that our investment of 10 years in this exciting space is now maturing and we are excited about future possibilities. We continue to strengthen our bioinformatics capability through our BioIT consulting division. We thank BioSpectrum-ABLE for reinforcing their faith in us and propelling us towards our larger aspirations.”

Mr. Govind Adireddi, VP BioIT Consulting at Ocimum Biosolutions, spoke about some of their new products and services, “Ocimum has impressed existing and new customers with solutions for translational research, genomics for healthcare and personalized medicine. We are adding value to translational research and cancer informatics programs of few of our partners from pharmaceutical and biotech companies using next generation sequencing, biomarker discovery and validation programs and providing solutions to multidimensional discovery data. The addition of cloud based analytical services and workflows have strengthened our infrastructure and given a whole new dimension to our value proposition.”

The award was presented to Ocimum on December 16, 2011 in Bangalore, at a ceremony graced by the crème de la crème of India’s biotech industry. Other winners for the year include Biocon (best Biopharma company), Novozymes South Asia (best Bioindustrial company), and Nuziveedu Seeds (best Bioagri company).

About Ocimum Biosolutions

Ocimum Biosolutions is a leading integrated global genomics outsourcing partner with solutions spanning Bioresearch Design and Execution; Data Analytics and Insights; Laboratory, Sample & Data Management; and Integrated Solutions. Ocimum provides comprehensive genomic services and reference databases; data analysis; biorepository services such as sample accrual & collection, IRB approvals, CRO training, sample, clinical data capture and management; life science lab information management solutions; and also offers both research level and GLP-compliant services. Majority of the top 25 pharma and biotech companies and leading research institutes worldwide have chosen Ocimum as their preferred genomics outsourcing partner. Ocimum has received several awards including “Fastest Growing Life Sciences Company in India”, Red Herring Asia 100, “IT Innovation Award” by NASSCOM and has been named in the Deloitte list of Fastest Growing companies in Asia, four years in a row. Ocimum is one of three Indian companies that successfully developed an indigenous, relatively low-cost H1N1 Swine Flu H1N1 detection kit in 2010.

For more information, please visit www.ocimumbio.com.

About BioSpectrum

BioSpectrum and BioSpectrum Asia offer an integrated B2B media platform for life sciences industry in India and the Asia Pacific region. Together they offer an online portal, fortnightly digital magazine and monthly print magazine as formats of delivery. The BioSpectrum was awarded for Excellence in New Business Models Category at the Asian Publishing Award 2008.

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Ms. Anu Acharya, CEO of Ocimum Biosolutions said “Having developed solutions for organizations across various sectors that include drug discovery, agriculture, nutraceuticals, and metagenomics, we recently launched ASCENTA 4.0 which comes fully loaded with more data and improved features that helps the researchers to study and analyze their genes of interest”. She further added “Innovation in academia is what drives our industry. Ascenta can be an extremely powerful tool to accelerate scientific discoveries by academia and we would like to catalyze it by offering it at a special price to commemorate 10 years of Ocimum”.

Detailed licensing information can be obtained by contacting info@genelogic.com. Also, one week free trials are available via registration on http://www.genelogic.com/wp-content/forms/triallicense.htm

About ASCENTA System
ASCENTA is web-based and was developed to simplify access to and information retrieval from BioExpressTM, Gene Logic’s proprietary database that is the most comprehensive gene expression database in the world today. ASCENTA makes it possible for researchers to quickly identify and prioritize drug targets and biomarkers across multiple disease and tissue settings. In the past seven years ASCENTA System has been instrumental in the discovery and validation of several drug targets and biomarkers.

About Ocimum Biosolutions
Ocimum Biosolutions is a global integrated genomic services company with operations in Hyderabad, India, and Gaithersburg, MD (Gene Logic). We provide comprehensive (research level and clinical GLP-compliant) genomic services, reference databases, and LIMS solutions. Our distinct platform “Research as a Service” (RaaS) allows complete outsourcing of genomics – from storing biological samples and performing on demand DNA and RNA based services to validating biomarkers using our proprietary databases and providing data and bioinformatic analysis. We have been chosen as a global preferred outsourcing provider for most of the top 25 pharma and biotech companies plus leading research institutes. Our partners recognize our wide-ranging expertise in genomics and genetic sciences, discovery and evaluation of gene targets and biomarkers, and sample analysis for clinical studies.

For more information, please visit www.ocimumbio.com.

Anu Acharya is now a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders that works in tandem with the World Economic Forum towards discovering innovative solutions to current global challenges while building the next-generation leadership community. She said, “I am honored and thrilled to be part of the Young Global Leaders community by the World Economic Forum. The YGL platform is a powerful peer group that will enable us to contribute more effectively to the future of the world. I am looking forward to being actively involved in YGL”.

This year, the World Economic Forum has named 190 Young Global Leaders, out of which 18 are from South Asia and 12 from India.

About Anu Acharya

Ms. Anu Acharya is the Founder & CEO of Ocimum Biosolutions, a global genomics outsourcing partner for discovery, development and diagnostics. Since founding the company in 2000, she has piloted it to great heights through strategic international acquisitions, capital raises for equity investments and launch of innovative products, solutions and services through its proprietary platform called RaaS (Research as a Service). She currently serves as a governing board member at CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), the premier R&D Organization in India and also a governing board member at the NIBMG (National Institute for Biomedical Genomics).

Prior to founding Ocimum Biosolutions, Ms. Acharya has had rich experience in the Telecom, IT and entrepreneurship arenas. She worked for a start-up in the telecommunications space called Mantiss Information and a consulting firm called SEI Information where she helped create a social networking site for entrepreneurs. Her experience is backed by education at premier institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur, India (IIT) and University of Illinois where she has two Post Graduate degrees in Physics and MIS.

She was selected by Red Herring Magazine to the list of “25 Tech Titans under 35″ in 2006. She has been named Biospectrum “Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2008 and also has been awarded the Astia Life Science Innovators Award in the same year. Ms. Acharya has been a past President of the Hyderabad chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization and currently serves on the board of ABLE (Association of Biotech Led Enterprises). At Ocimum, she also mentors committees for resource development and Corporate Social Responsibility.

About Ocimum Biosolutions

Ocimum Biosolutions is a leading integrated global genomics outsourcing partner with solutions spanning Bioresearch Design and Execution; Data Analytics and Insights; Laboratory, Sample & Data Management; and Integrated Solutions. Ocimum provides comprehensive genomic services and reference databases; data analysis; biorepository services such as sample accrual & collection, IRB approvals, CRO training, sample, clinical data capture and management; life science lab information management solutions; and also offers both research level and GLP-compliant services. Majority of the top 25 pharma & biotech companies and leading research institutes worldwide have chosen Ocimum as their preferred genomics outsourcing partner. Ocimum has received several awards including “Fastest Growing Life Sciences Company in India”, Red Herring Asia 100, “IT Innovation Award” by NASSCOM and has been named to the Deloitte list of Fastest Growing companies in Asia, four years in a row. Ocimum is one of three Indian companies that successfully developed an indigenous, relatively low-cost H1N1 Swine Flu H1N1 detection kit in 2010.

For more information, please visit www.ocimumbio.com.

About The World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

For more information, please visit www.weforum.org/young-global-leaders.

In the continuous quest to improve accessibility and provide the most comprehensive data for researchers, Gene Logic has launched this newest version, ASCENTA 4.0. This version is not only more convenient due to its integration of two generations of gene expression content on the Affymetrix platform into one easy-to-use application but also boasts of enhancements such as Gene Ontology view that further assist researchers to comprehend expression profile patterns. In addition ASCENTA 4.0 has an enhanced wide screen display format that adds to a better user experience.

In a bid to make this valuable data available to more researchers and enable discovery further, Gene Logic’s industry standard reference genomic database is now also offering academic licenses. Gene Logic plans to add public domain data from GEO database in its upcoming version upgrades of the ASCENTA System scheduled for launch in early 2011, making it the most comprehensive gene expression database commercially available for gene expression research.

With this improved version and its ambitious plans for future versions, ASCENTA System will provide researchers an extensive, validated and user-friendly interface to retrieve data, identify patterns and linkages in gene expression thereby establishing itself as a leading web-based interface that enables access to a wealth of gene expression data.

About ASCENTA System
ASCENTA was developed to simplify access and information retrieval from BioExpressTM, Gene Logic’s proprietary database that is one of the most comprehensive gene expression databases in the industry today. ASCENTA is the reference software product that makes it possible for researchers to quickly identify and prioritize drug targets with respect to specific therapeutic and large-scale human biological considerations. In the past seven years ASCENTA System has been instrumental in the discovery and validation of several drug targets.

About Gene Logic
Gene Logic is the US subsidiary of Ocimum Biosolutions, a leading integrated global genomics outsourcing partner with solutions spanning Bioresearch Design and Execution; Data Analytics and Insights; Laboratory, Sample & Data Management; and Integrated Solutions. Ocimum provides comprehensive genomic services and reference databases; data analysis; biorepository services such as sample accrual & collection, IRB approvals, CRO training, sample, clinical data capture and management; life science lab information management solutions; and also offers both research level and GLP-compliant services. Majority of the top 25 pharma & biotech companies and leading research institutes worldwide have chosen Ocimum as their preferred genomics outsourcing partner.

For more information, please visit www.ocimumbio.com.

Ms. Anuradha Acharya, CEO of Ocimum Biosolutions and a Biospectrum Best Entrepreneur 2008 award winner herself, mentioned that, “We are glad and extremely honored to win the Best Bioinformatics Company Award. Ocimum will now strive harder to live up to the benchmarks that this has set for us. We believe that with our new campus, housing over 300,000 sq ft of GLP compliant, genomic and diagnostics labs and our all-encompassing solution offerings through the Research as a Service (RaaS) platform in 2011, we will be able to enhance our unparalleled, hassle-free user experience even further. We hope to become the best research services company soon. We thank Biospectrum for recognizing us and propelling us towards our larger aspirations.” The award was presented to Ocimum Biosolutions at a ceremony, attended by the cream of India’s biotech industry in Bangalore, on 17th December 2010.

About Ocimum Biosolutions
Ocimum Biosolutions is an leading integrated global genomics outsourcing partner with solutions spanning Bioresearch Design and Execution; Data Analytics and Insights; Laboratory, Sample & Data Management; and Integrated Solutions. Ocimum provides comprehensive genomic services and reference databases; data analysis; biorepository services such as sample accrual & collection, IRB approvals, CRO training, sample, clinical data capture and management; life science lab information management solutions; and also offers both research level and GLP-compliant services. Majority of the top 25 pharma & biotech companies and leading research institutes worldwide have chosen Ocimum as their preferred genomics outsourcing partner.

For more information, please visit www.ocimumbio.com.