National Institutes of Health Award Northrop Grumman Bioinformatics Resource Centers...

National Institutes of Health Award Northrop Grumman Bioinformatics Resource
Centers Contract

RESTON, Va., Nov. 5, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation
(NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a follow-on contract by the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to
create a resource that supports research of pathogenic viruses and that will
lead to new medical treatments and preventive measures for humans.

Northrop Grumman was awarded the initial five-year contract in 2004. This new
five-year contract is valued at up to $16 million to the company.

As part of the contract, Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector will
build and maintain a Web-based Virus Pathogen Resource (ViPR) Bioinformatics
Resource Center to facilitate the research of Category A, B and C pathogenic
viruses and human infection with these viruses. The resource will include
surveillance data, human clinical data, virus characteristic information, and
the genomic and proteomic data available in public repositories for the
pathogenic viruses.

"Northrop Grumman will apply world-class information technology and
bioinformatics techniques to develop a quality scientific information system
that supports crucial experimental biology research efforts," said Amy King,
Northrop Grumman's vice president of health information technology programs.
"Our Bioinformatics Resource Center database will be useful for researchers
investigating biodefense and public health issues."

The ViPR will also include a suite of tools available to researchers for
analysis of pathogenic virus data, as well as a personal workbench for
scientists to store critical data.

Under the previous contract, Northrop Grumman developed BioHealthBase, which
focused on six priority pathogens that helped fill in gaps in genomic and other
data vital to scientific researchers.

Work will be performed at the Northrop Grumman facility in Rockville, Md., and
at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSMC). In
addition to UTSMC, other teammates on the program include Vecna Technologies,
Inc., Greenbelt, Md.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000
employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace,
electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to
government and commercial customers worldwide.

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CONTACT: Christy Whitman
Northrop Grumman Information Systems
(571) 213-5302
christine.whitman@ngc.com