February News Briefs
February 23, 2012
Agilent, Integrated Diagnostics Develop Diagnostic Assays
Agilent Technologies and Integrated Diagnostics have announced a strategic partnership to develop assays that detect major human diseases at very early stages to improve treatment outcomes. The partnership will develop high-throughput automated workflows to include sample preparation and LC MS/MS analysis. Participants expect accelerated biomarker discovery to be fueled by novel sample-prep technology, fast liquid chromatography and ultra-sensitive ion funnel triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. “Agilent and Integrated Diagnostics share the vision of harnessing the power of an integrative systems biology approach to solving some of mankind’s most vexing health challenges,” said Gustavo Salem, vice president and general manager of the Biological Systems Division at Agilent in a press release. “It’s very exciting to be at the forefront of helping technology migrate from the research lab to the clinic, in this case developing next-generation workflows to improve protein-based LC/MS assays.” Press release.
Open Science Challenge is Open to All
Assay Depot and BioCurious have launched the Assay Depot/BioCurious Challenge, a science competition open to all Bay Area residents ages 10 to 110 who want to take their research ideas to the next level. Two winners will receive $5,000 in research funding and a one-year subscription to the BioCurious community laboratory located in Sunnyvale, CA. One under-18 winner will receive $1,000 in research funding. “We need everyone’s help to tackle the serious problems we face as a global community,” said Kevin Lustig, Assay Depot’s CEO, in a press release. “This competition is open to current and future scientists, science club members and all citizen scientists, regardless of their day job. Anyone with a good idea that can be tested in Assay Depot’s online laboratory or BioCurious’ community laboratory can apply.” Applicants submit a 1-2 page proposal by April 15 that explains their hypothesis and research plan. Winners will be announced in early May. More information and submission guidelines are located at https://www.assaydepot.com/pages/challenge.
DNA Sequencing in the Clinic
DNAnexus has signed agreements with Geisinger Health System (GHS) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to develop clinically relevant workflows to provide new insights into the use of DNA sequencing in medicine. As part of these relationships, key laboratories within GHS and UCSF will leverage DNAnexus’ cloud-based software platform to upload, store and analyze DNA sequencing data. In conjunction with the Geisinger Clinical Program for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), GHS will have access to DNAnexus’ genomic data management capabilities including visualization, analysis and storage. The health care organization, in turn, will provide strategic counsel around the use of WGS data in clinical settings, and the extension of DNAnexus’ capabilities to further support such use. Press release.
Automated Language Processing of Big Data
Linguamatics, Brandwatch, and the University of Sussex in the UK have launched an 18-month project funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board to address challenges faced by automated language processing software in harnessing diverse data sources. The EVOKES project, which stands for “Exploitation of Diverse Data via Automatic Adaptation of Knowledge Extraction Software” will exploit distributional similarity techniques developed by the University of Sussex to improve automatic extraction of information from scientific papers, news, or social media for applications in research and development, marketing, and competitive intelligence. The project is part of a broader Technology Strategy Board initiative focusing on enabling technologies to harness “big data” for economic growth. Press release.
Partnership to Develop Solutions for Clinical Genomics
The Galician Foundation of Genomic Medicine (FPGMX) and Integromics have entered a partnership for the development of inexpensive solutions for clinical genomics. Based on the strength of its R&D work, the new partnership has been awarded a EUR1m grant from the European Regional Development Fund and the Spanish Government for a project entitled Advanced analysis and interpretation of low-cost next generation sequencing data for clinical applications (ApliClinics LC-NGS). The ApliClinics collaboration has been designed to address the issues, at the bench and bioinformatics levels, being faced by the clinical labs trying to apply NGS technology. The project aims to improve procedures and optimize tools to make the use of NGS faster in the routine health care environment, which will alleviate the current lack of applications critically needed by clinicians, as well as helping to lessen their workload. Press release.
CDISC Expands in Europe
CDISC is expanding in Europe, adding a newly established CDISC entity in Brussels, Belgium, a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), and a new relationship with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the EU’s largest cancer research network. The CDISC Europe Foundation was established as a non-profit entity in Brussels, Belgium in July 2011. This newly established entity will assist CDISC in meeting the needs of its Europe-based members, including IMI, by offering localized support and participation in projects and events located throughout the continent. “I’m really excited about CDISC’s growing footprint in Europe that has come about through the CDISC Europe Foundation,” said Bron Kisler, VP Strategic Initiatives at CDISC. “In a short period of time it has enabled CDISC to become a partner organization on several key IMI projects (such as BioVacSafe, EHR4CR and eTRIKS). I see the CDISC Europe Foundation as a spring board to strengthen and expand relationships with existing European members as well as forging new relationships.” Through the CDISC Europe Foundation, CDISC now has the opportunity to be a full partner in IMI projects. Through the MOU with IMI, all of the non-profit and academic organizations and SMEs participating in IMI projects also receive the benefits of a CDISC Platinum membership. Press Release