Oracle Life Sciences Users Group - Welcome Letter

March 2, 2004

Dear Fellow Oracle Life Sciences Users,

On the evening of February 5th following the 3rd Oracle Life Sciences User Group (OLSUG) meeting in London, a group of us - representing users and Oracle - met at the invitation of Oracle to form an interim steering committee for the OLSUG. Our committee's purpose was to figure out how to transform the OLSUG from an Oracle-controlled organization to a true user group, controlled by Oracle users, and to draft a charter and mission statement. After several subsequent meetings by teleconference, we devised a plan to accomplish the transformation. Here is the essence of that plan:

• OLSUG will be organized under the direction of an 11-member Board of Directors that will manage the affairs of the OLSUG. Elected annually by the OLSUG at large, the Board will be comprised of 6 user members, two Oracle alliance partner members, and three Oracle representative members. Board members must be members in good standing of the OLSUG.
• The first election will be held at the next OLSUG meeting on June 23rd and 24th in Reston, VA, USA.
• Oracle will continue to subsidize OLSUG through its transition to autonomy and financial self-sufficiency.

In addition to the plan, we have drafted a mission statement and an organizational charter, which will soon be accessible via the OLSUG Web page at Oracle’s OTN site.

Many issues remain to be resolved. However, once we have elected our Board of Directors, the real work can begin to establish a world-class collaborative group of Oracle Life Sciences product users.

As we approach the June 23 & 24 meeting, we will send you more detailed information including a call for presentation proposals and biographies. In the meantime, please contact us with your comments, suggestions, and questions.

Looking forward to your participation,

The OLSUG Interim Steering Committee

· Mary Arbelaez, Oracle   
· Judy Bandy, InforSense   
· Charlie Berger, Oracle   
· John Burke, UCB Pharma   
· Dennis Constantinou, Oracle   
· Mark Forster, Syngenta   
· William Hayes, AstraZeneca   
· Claus Jungmann, Robotron   
· Mahendra Navarange, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre  
· Susie Stephens, Oracle   
· Martin Widlake, Wellcome Sanger Trust Institute