Filed at 5:32 p.m. ET

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (AP) -- Computer software giant Oracle Corp. announced Wednesday it is forming an alliance with two biotechnology companies to map out human proteins and how they interact.

The venture with Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc. and Tokyo-based-Hitachi Ltd. -- to be called Myriad Proteomics -- hopes to complete its catalog by 2004.

Myriad Genetics is putting up $82 million worth of technology and will own 50 percent of the joint venture. The other half interest will be split among Oracle, Hitachi and Switzerland-based Friedli Corporate Finance, which are providing a collective $85 million in cash and $18 million in additional technology.

Redwood Shores-based Oracle previously has provided computing tools for biotech research -- most notably for Celera Genomics Group's human genome project -- but this is the first time the software giant has put money into the sector.

``We are trying to make some noise in the space,'' said Douglas Renert, Oracle's vice president of corporate development.

Ellison, the nation's second-richest man, is enthralled with biotech's potential. He has invested some of his own money in biotech start-ups and in February told a conference of Oracle customers he would seek out a career in the biotechnology industry if he were just starting out in business today.

Shares of Oracle were up 23 cents, or almost 2 percent, to close at $13.48 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

^------

On The Net:

http://www.oracle.com