• Knome Joins Illumina Genome Network, Adds Managerial Depth

    Bio-IT World | Knome, the human genome interpretation company, made a series of announcements today, including its selection as a partner in the Illumina Genome Network (IGN) and a number of managerial appointments.  

    Apr 3, 2012

  • The Orphan Drug Conundrum

    Bio-IT World | The Skeptical Outsider | It's not a crisis. Yet. Bigger health care issues loom. Right now. There are still fortunes to be made. While it lasts. But one could hardly ask for a more interesting case study on the collision of medicine, economics, and democracy than the explosive growth of so-called orphan drugs. These are drugs designed to extract extraordinary amounts of other people's money serving the needs of tiny, desperate patient populations. 

    Apr 2, 2012

  • Twin Study Finds Little Prediction Power in Genomics

    New York Times | A study published yesterday online in Science Translational Medicine found that knowing a person's DNA doesn't seem to help predict a person's medical future. 

    Apr 3, 2012

  • RainDance Releases Cancer Panel Worldwide

    Mass High Tech | RainDance Technologies has announced worldwide release of its cancer mutation screening panel, which screens 13,000 cancer hotspots across 54 genes.

    Apr 3, 2012

  • The Money Question: Cost-Effectiveness in Drug Discovery

    Xconomy | Cost-effectiveness in biotech and drug discovery can no longer be a secondary consideration, but the cost of drugs to patients is still not frequently discussed. 

    Apr 3, 2012

  • Oracle Acquires ClearTrials Clinical Trials Software

    PC World | Oracle acquired ClearTrial late last week for an undisclosed amount in a deal expected to close in the first half of the year. Oracle hopes to combine ClearTrial's cloud-based clinical trials software offerings with its existing portfolio including tools.

    Apr 2, 2012

  • DIY Clinical Trials

    WSJ Blog | DIY science is growing in popularity, especially as sequencing costs fall and genomics becomes more accessible. So it's not surprising that the DIY clinical trial is gaining ground as well. An investment advisor in Silicon Valley launched her own clinical trial on the type of vitamin B she, and others with her genotype, should take.

    Apr 2, 2012

  • Price Wars for Cancer Drugs

    Reuters | Part of the drug discovery challenge is price and the "pricing crisis" is reaching new heights in terms of cancer medicines. Many patients don't have access to drugs that could help because of price limitations. 

    Apr 2, 2012

  • Courtagen Releases Genetic Tests for Mitochondrial Disease

    Mass High Tech | Courtagen, a private genomics and proteomics company based in Woburn, Mass., has announced its first genetic test to diagnose mitochondiral disease. The company says it plans to expand test options later this year and ultimately offer a combination of multiplex proteomic and next-generation sequencing genomic assays using Illumina’s MiSeq and HiSeq platforms.

    Mar 30, 2012

  • Roche Again Raises Illumina Bid

    New York Times | Roche raised its bid for Illumina yesterday, offering $51 per share, valuing the company at more than $6 billion. 

    Mar 29, 2012

  • Paul Allen Pledges Another $300m to Institute for Brain Science

    Seattle Times | Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and founder of the Allen Institute for Brain Sciences, has committed an additional $300 million toward the Institute's 10-year plan.

    Mar 29, 2012

  • Dada Scale Data

    Nature News | The US Office of Science and Technology Policy unveiled a $200 million initiative yesterday to manage data at the databytes leves--that's 1021 bytes.

    Mar 29, 2012

  • Amazon to Store, Share All of 1000 Genomes Project

     New York Times | Amazon Web Services will store and make available the entire contents of the 1000 Genomes project--some 200 terabytes. 

    Mar 29, 2012

  • March News Briefs

    Bio-IT World | March news briefs from IO Informatics, Biomatters, BGI, DNA Electronics, and Thomson Reuters.

    Mar 29, 2012

  • IOM Releases Guidelines for Genomics Research

    The Chronicle | The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released a report last week to estabish standards for genomics research and other develping medical sciences with large datasets and a framework for monitoring and ensuring translational research integrity. 

    Mar 29, 2012

  • The Y Chromosome Is Safe

    The Atlantic | The Y chromosome is safe, says a new Nature study. The idea that the Y chromosome was quickly losing genes, the "rotting Y" theory, is stalled according to research from geneticists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

    Mar 28, 2012

  • Biotech Business Model Menu

    Forbes | Biotech business models can make a difference in funding and success, but it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. 

    Mar 28, 2012

  • Jiff Launches First HIPAA-Compliant Health Care Social Network

    Bio-IT World | Jiff Inc. unveiled the first HIPAA-compliant health care social network and digital health apps platform: Circle of Health earlier this month. Circle of Health will allow consumers, their loved ones, and their care providers to share critical health information and easily monitor and manage their health through digital health applications that seamlessly integrate with each other. 

    Mar 27, 2012

  • Supreme Court Calls for Review of Gene Patent Case

    New York Times | The US Supreme Court ordered an appeals court to reconsider its decision upholding two Myriad Genetics gene patents in light of last week's ruling on a diagnostic test.

    Mar 26, 2012

  • Columbia University Sues Illumina Over NGS Patents

    Reuters | Columbia University filed suit against Illumina yesterday for allegedly infringing on five DNA sequencing patents. The patents were assigned between 2009 and 2012 and list several inventors.

    Mar 26, 2012