CRAIGAVON, Northern Ireland, February 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Almac Your Bioinformatics Partner

Almac's Diagnostics business unit today announced the launch of its Bioinformatics Consultancy service.

Almac's Bioinformatics Consultancy supports discovery and development of biomarkers as well as enabling an in-depth understanding of biology by partnering with customers in the pharmaceutical, biotech and diagnostics setting, from the initial study design through to the interpretation of data results.

The consultancy service offers a range of customisable bioinformatics and biostatistics solutions which include: Biomarker Discovery and Development, Exploratory Analysis, Mechanistic and Functional Analysis, Traditional and Next Generation Sequencing Data Analysis, Biostatistics and Data Integration.

The solutions are delivered through a large and experienced bioinformatics team from a wide range of disciplines including biology, medicine, mathematics and biostatistics. In addition to the team's expertise in bioinformatics and biostatistics they also have substantial experience in molecular and cell biology, drug discovery and development, and diagnostic product development.

Professor Paul Harkin, President and Managing Director of Almac's Diagnostic business unit said: "Bioinformatics has always been a key strength for us at Almac, over the years we have built-up a world class team of bioinformaticians and biostatisticians. This team has provided invaluable support for both our internal research and our external work. And, the launch of the full bioinformatics consultancy business is the next logical step in enabling our customer's to access this important resource".

Almac has secured its position in the personalised medicine market, following collaborations with some of the top Pharma companies worldwide including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Merck.

About Almac:

Almac's Diagnostic business unit is focused on the discovery and development of biomarkers. It utilises its proprietary technology, extensive experience and expertise to offer solutions to biotech and Pharma partners. Almac focus on providing a range of services including exploratory biomarker discovery studies, verification studies for existing markers, assay development and biomarker validation.

The Almac Group offers a broad range of services from R&D, biomarker discovery and development, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply and IXRS technology (IVRS/IWRS), to commercial-scale manufacture. Almac provides services to more than 600 companies, including all the world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

The company employs almost 3,000 individuals and is headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. US operations are based in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California. Staff have now transferred to Almac's new $120m North American Headquarters which is now fully operational.

For more information about the Almac Group, please visit http://www.almacgroup.com

SOURCE Almac