Biological Sciences

The goal of the Bioinformatics group at Merck Frosst is to grasp the vast opportunities offered by the avalanche of data emerging from biotechnology research worldwide. Bioinformatics is a new scientific approach that brings biological themes together using sophisticated computer tools and sound scientific principles, to give coherence to vast data resources such as the human genome. The challenge for the scientists of Merck Frosst, is to integrate and shape this data into knowledge-and this knowledge into new discoveries.

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Working with Merck & Co., Inc. bioinformatics teams around the world, the scientists at Merck Frosst have access to state-of-the-art
in-house bioinformatics tools, software and databases. The emphasis is on identification and validation of drug targets.

By mining the human genome draft data, molecular biologists from Merck Frosst were able to identify several novel caspases, collectively representing a new target for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

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In addition to using bioinformatics to identify potential drug targets from databases, the scientists at Merck Frosst are increasingly using the technique for target validation in the laboratory. In the phosphatase research program, for example, Bioinformatics and Proteomics groups work closely to assay potential drugs for diabetes, by using bioinformatics tools to characterize transcriptional activity surrounding the regulation of insulin transduction.