German Cancer Research Center Selects Contur ELN from Accelrys

Accelrys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACCL), a leading provider of scientific innovation lifecycle management software, has announced that the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has licensed the server-based, on-premises version of the Contur Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN). The licensing agreement follows a successful two-month pilot program involving twenty chemists and biologists in four departments at DKFZ. When fully implemented, the Contur ELN will accelerate scientific innovation by improving collaboration, quality, efficiency and security for up to 1,000 researchers across the largest biomedical research institute in Germany.

"We wanted to deploy a single ELN across all scientific researchers to replace paper, facilitate information sharing and protect intellectual property," said Holger Haas, Head of the IT Department, DKFZ. "The single ELN system reduces cost of ownership while improving the management and reuse of information, as opposed to individual groups selecting and deploying different ELNs. Of all the ELNs we assessed, the Contur ELN was a clear leader because of its ease of use, its proven deployment track record and the excellent support we received from Accelrys during the pilot."

Along with increased competition for grants, academic researchers today face increasingly stringent data sharing and protection requirements, often imposed by funding organizations. Scientists also require a common research environment that supports distributed research teams and external partners while ensuring IP transparency, accountability and security.

"DKFZ's strategic decision reflects a growing trend in academic and research organizations today," said Mollie Hunter, Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at Accelrys. "In terms of rapid deployment, proven capabilities and bottom-line affordability, the Contur ELN is now well established as a valuable productivity tool for academic communities, offering proven performance for thousands of users. An ELN can pay for itself by preventing just one failed experiment or unnecessary repeated experiment."

Available as both a server-based, on-premises installation and as a software-as-a-service offering in the Cloud for Macs and PCs, the easy-to-deploy-and-use Contur ELN helps academic organizations meet the sophisticated requirements of today's research environment. In addition, the scalability of the Contur ELN accommodates the continually changing workflow and resourcing requirements encountered in academia.