Phoenix apps fall into the fire

NEWS Phoenix International Life Sciences has dropped out of the commercial applications software business. Instead, the company claims it will concentrate on pre-clinical research. Half of the 50-strong development team will be kept on to maintain software needs, but 25 of the workforce will be made redundant. Richard Gareau, spokesman for Phoenix said: "Being a very small niche market we found it very difficult to find staff to cater for that business." The shareholders, as Gareau explained, originally wanted to spin off the section into another company - called Integraware - but it failed to find sufficient investors.