Microsoft Announces Call for Entries for Expanded Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Innovation Awards

REDMOND, Wash. – Feb. 27, 2006 – Microsoft Corp. today announced a call for entries for its Microsoft® Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Innovation Awards, recognizing breakthroughs in the use of technology in three award categories.

Awarded annually, this year's competition is expanded in recognition of the positive impact that new and innovative technologies are delivering in the areas of sales and marketing, manufacturing and supply chain, and clinical development.

Eligible participants are pharmaceutical and life sciences corporations, including those in biotechnology, diagnostics, medical equipment and devices, pharmaceuticals, animal health, nutritional products, and consumer health products. This year, for the first time, the awards are open to corporations worldwide.

An award will be presented in each category to eligible pharmaceutical or life sciences corporations that best demonstrate market leadership in improving business operations through deployment of Microsoft technologies representing breakthroughs in business processes and practices.

Sales and Marketing

This award recognizes technological innovation that enhances a pharmaceutical or life sciences corporation's ability to inform and educate physicians and healthcare professionals, consumers, and even insurance and benefits plan providers about the benefits, value and safety of the pharmaceutical and healthcare offerings produced. Last year's winner in this category, Pfizer Inc., was honored for its use of industry-leading technologies to provide physicians and healthcare professionals with up-to-date and visually appealing information, which enables them to quickly make informed patient-treatment decisions.

Manufacturing and Supply Chain

This award recognizes the use of innovative technology to improve a pharmaceutical or life sciences corporation's ability to expedite delivery of products to consumers by reducing complexity and costs, improving productivity, and enhancing product life-cycle management, compliance, safety, quality and speed to use through advancements in manufacturing and supply chain.

Clinical Development

To address the rising costs and pipeline pressures in the development of new drugs and other life sciences products, it is increasingly imperative for companies to implement innovative technologies that accelerate discovery and bring critical new products to market quickly and more safely. The winner in this category will be the pharmaceutical or life sciences company demonstrating innovative use of Microsoft technologies in drug development, biotechnology, medical and diagnostic devices, or animal health and consumer health products resulting in faster market delivery by enhancing the speed and quality of clinical trials and product development, reducing complexity and costs, and delivering safer products to consumers globally.

Awards Schedule

Implementations for award consideration must include the use of Microsoft technologies such as BizTalk® Server, Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition, SQL Server™ 2005, Office 2003 or other major Microsoft technologies. An online entry kit and full details are available on the Microsoft Life Sciences Web site at www.microsoft.com/lifesciences. Entries must be submitted online by 5 p.m. PST Monday, April 10, 2006. Winners will be announced before the end of June 2006. More information about the awards is also available by contacting Monika Skibeness at Monika_TCS@msn.com or +1 (425) 316-3079.