Adobe Systems Joins CENSA to Support the Development Of Next Generation Digital Archiving and Recordkeeping Systems

--CENSA dedicated to developing science's newest and most productive research tools--

Medford, MA May 13, 1998--Rich Lysakowski, Ph.D., Executive Director of CENSA (the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association) and the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association, Medford, MA announced, today, that Adobe Systems Incorporated, San Jose, CA has joined CENSA as a leading Supplier Member.

CENSA is international scientific, software, and high-technology trade association comprised of the world's largest research and development organizations in the life sciences, chemical sciences, healthcare, high technology, and related industries. The Association is developing the next generation of scientific automation systems—collaborative electronic notebook systems. Adobe Systems helped launch the desktop publishing revolution and is, today, one of the world's largest personal computer software companies.

"As a CENSA Supplier Member, Adobe Systems will play a pivotal role in our efforts to jointly develop some of science and technology's newest and most productive research tools," said Rich Lysakowski, Executive Director of CENSA. "These collaborative electronic tools will greatly facilitate research among the world's scientists. They will also speed the sharing, reuse, and archiving of critical and proprietary research data, and accelerate laboratory and R&D projects. Adobe's far-sighted corporate philosophy, its commitments and responsiveness to CENSA's needs, and its technologies for platform-independent compound document exchange will make them the leader in recordkeeping and archiving components well into the next century."

"Adobe is committed to supporting products and standards for greater interoperability," said Christopher Hunt, Business Development Manager, Enterprise Solutions Division, Adobe Systems Incorporated. "CENSA is important to us because an organization that promotes interoperability and the reuse of archived records into the next 50-100 years, meshes well with our own strategic direction. Adobe is committed to producing applications, file formats and solutions that operate seamlessly in mixed computer platform environments. CENSA understands and articulates these same goals and is similarly committed to fostering the smooth interchange of information."

"CENSA Supplier Members gain many benefits," said Lysakowski, "including gaining priority access to our corporate end users and their automation system development projects; receiving system and component specifications and other knowledge deliverables; sponsoring specifications for adoption; receiving and responding to CENSA RFPs; and participating in the certification and Quality Branding Program."

Said Adobe's Hunt, "Getting feedback from CENSA members and being able to interact with individuals dedicated to the same objectives is also important to Adobe. The quality of the CENSA membership means that Adobe can get high-level input from scientists, R&D managers, executives, records managers, and IS managers who care about the same issues that we do and who can provide constructive feedback that helps us improve our products."

"Issues like document fidelity, robust security, long term access and reusability of data are the cornerstones of Adobe's Acrobat technology and these capabilities coincide perfectly with CENSA's own long term needs and product development objectives," said Hunt.

CENSA is contracting with software and hardware vendors to construct applications and tools for mission-critical R&D team computing systems with complete collaborative electronic laboratory notebooks. Later this year and continuing into 2000, CENSA will be releasing a series of Requests For Proposals (RFPs) and detailed functional specifications for electronic notebook systems, application integration frameworks and tools, and specialized applications for scientific and technical purposes.

These RFPs and specifications focus on the needs of automation managers, regulatory affairs, R&D managers, scientists, patent attorneys, records managers, and quality assurance managers, who will benefit greatly from the development of electronic recordkeeping and integrated systems for intelligent project data handling and collaboration.

CENSA's economic development programs catalyze new markets by hosting specialized end user-supplier collaborations to develop products that accelerate progress and drive innovation in research, product development, testing and manufacturing laboratories, and related operations.

CENSA represents over 40,000 R&D scientists and over 500,000 employees working in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, healthcare, software, high technology, and related industries internationally where government regulations and patents are fundamental to business operations.

Adobe Systems Incorporated develops and supports products to help people express and use information in more imaginative and meaningful ways across print and electronic media. The company offers a market-leading line of application software and type products for creating and distributing visually rich communication materials; licenses its industry-standard technologies to major hardware manufacturers, software developers, and service providers; and offers integrated software solutions to businesses of all sizes.

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For more information contact:

Dr. Rich Lysakowski, Executive Director, The Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association, 19 Bowen Avenue, Suite 100, Medford, MA 02155 USA, Tel: (781) 395-3004, Internet: