BIOINFORMATICS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

A review was carried out of the ‘information landscape’ within the pharmaceuticals‐based molecular biology community, which examined the research problems requiring biological‐sequence data, important sources of information, methods of access, information‐seeking behaviour of end users and the role of libraries and information centres. This work concentrated on the practical aspects of how biological sequence information is managed and used in a research setting and was carried out as part of the MSc in Information Science at the City University. Fifteen questionnaires were sent to information scientists in the UK pharmaceutical industry and a user study was carried out amongst scientists at Celltech. Most of the important primary data are available freely or cheaply via the Internet and molecular biologists were found to be self‐reliant in their use of these resources. Currency of information was found to be very important in the research process and the issue of Internet security was taken very seriously. Most questionnaire respondents saw a productive role in the future for information workers in the field of molecular biology, citing end‐user training and data integration as possible roles, although the degree of involvement will depend on the particular mix of skills and experience that exist within an information department.