Lifebit, Psifas Partner for Israeli Genomic Medicine Initiative
By Bio-IT World Staff
February 10, 2025 | On the heels of its announced collaboration with 23andMe, Lifebit, has announced a long-term partnership with Psifas, Israeli Genomic Medicine Initiative. This collaboration will empower groundbreaking advancements in personalized medicine by providing a secure and unified platform for clinical-genomic research across Israel’s diverse population.
The Psifas initiative, launched in 2022, is a pioneering project aimed at collecting and analyzing clinical and genomic from hundreds of thousands of volunteers and lifestyle data from selected populations. The Psifas database includes the Israeli Genome Graph, which provides a comprehensive map of the genetic makeup of 60 Israeli subpopulations. This enables researchers to analyze the frequencies of various genetic variations, which is critical for differentiating between those that are simply ancestry-informative and those that are disease-related.
This data will form the foundation for cutting-edge research into intractable diseases, enabling early diagnosis and the development of tailored medical treatments. Lifebit’s TRE technology will serve as the backbone for securely managing and analyzing this vast dataset, ensuring compliance with strict privacy regulations while fostering collaboration among researchers.
A Shared Vision For Transformative Genomic Research
The partnership between Lifebit and Psifas represents a shared commitment to advancing personalized medicine. By leveraging Lifebit’s federated platform, researchers will gain unparalleled access to Psifas’ comprehensive clinical and genomic database, offering more than 20 years of meticulously collected longitudinal data.
“Lifebit is honoured to partner with Psifas on this transformative initiative,” said Dr. Maria Chatzou Dunford, CEO of Lifebit in a press release. “Our federated Trusted Research Environment will empower researchers in Israel and across the globe to unlock the full potential of genomic data while maintaining the highest standards of security and privacy. Together, we aim to set a global benchmark for innovation in personalized medicine.”
Prof. Gabi Barbash, CEO of the Psifas initiative, added: “The collaboration with Lifebit is a significant step forward in realizing our vision of creating a world-class infrastructure for clinical-genomic research. Lifebit’s technology will enable us to securely integrate and analyze complex datasets at scale, driving breakthroughs that will improve health outcomes for all Israelis and will diversify genetic makeup in global research.”
Advancing Personalized Medicine Through Innovation
The partnership will support several strategic studies focused on diseases such as cancer, diabetes, autoimmune, and cardiovascular conditions. This initiative also underscores the importance of fostering international collaboration to address global health challenges. By uniting Lifebit’s expertise in federated data analysis with Psifas’ ambitious vision for cutting-edge medicine, this partnership has the potential to redefine how genomic research is conducted worldwide.