Chiron and IBM Announce Information Technology Outsourcing Pact

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Emeryville, CA (June 17, 1998) – Chiron Corporation (NASDAQ: CHIR) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the two companies have established a 10-year, $139 million information technology (IT) outsourcing relationship.
Under terms of the agreement, IBM Global Services will provide Chiron with a full range of information services including designing and deploying a company-wide distributed network system, establishing a comprehensive help-desk operation that can provide full-service delivery support, and developing a standardized desk-top platform using IBM workstations.
“Our relationship with IBM will allow Chiron to improve and standardize its information services network while decreasing costs,” said Seán Lance, president and chief executive officer of Chiron Corporation. “This outsourcing relationship is Chiron’s first step in rationalizing its administrative costs by leveraging the knowledge and capabilities of outside experts. With IBM overseeing our IT needs, we can better focus our energies on the discovery and development of new healthcare products.”
Chiron’s day-to-day information technology activities will transfer to IBM Global Services effective July 1, 1998. As part of this agreement, a number of Chiron employees will become employees of IBM.
“This alliance keeps Chiron at the forefront of information technology without the risk or cost inherent in developing such an expertise internally,” said David Kingsbury, Ph.D., vice president and chief information officer at Chiron. “The company will accrue immediate and on-going benefits from this partnership — both technologically and economically.”
Complementing the information services it will supply, IBM Global Services will also maintain Chiron’s IT hardware to current business standards and, utilizing the latest technology, continually enhance Chiron’s business processes. IBM will also provide the infrastructure support for SAP, the global enterprise system that Chiron is currently implementing. This relationship also provides the opportunity for Chiron to draw on the strength of IBM Research, which is working with IBM Global Services to apply its technology to the needs of life science customers.
“Building on our existing portfolio in the pharmaceutical industry, our agreement with Chiron marks a major extension into the emerging biotechnology sector,” said Todd Kirtley, vice president healthcare, IBM Global Services. “IBM is well positioned to provide solutions that maximizes IT investment and at the same time, foster collaboration between IBM Research and Chiron.”
Chiron Corporation, headquartered in Emeryville, California, is a leading biotechnology company that participates in three global healthcare markets: diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. Chiron also conducts research and development in the fields of biological proteins, gene therapy and combinatorial chemistry.

Source: IBM

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