HudsonAlpha, Vanderbilt, Thermo Scientific, and More: News From November 2019
November 27, 2019 | November featured exciting new, products, and partnerships from around the bio-IT community from innovating companies, organizations, and universities, including new standards for comment from GA4GH as well as news from HudsonAlpha, Vanderbilt, Thermo Scientific, and more.
GA4GH has released two new standards for public comment. The Service Info standard provides a standard way of describing service metadata for an endpoint. It is designed for extension and inclusion in other APIs. The Service Registry standard helps organize services into networks or groups, allowing for discovery of services across organizational boundaries. Feedback can be submitted on GitHub before December 26.
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Faculty Investigators Sara Cooper and Rick Myers will work together with CFD Research Principal Investigator AJ Singhal on a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health. The group will work to find a more effective target for pancreatic cancer drugs. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. According to Johns Hopkins, more than 44,000 Americans will receive a pancreatic cancer diagnosis this year; more than 38,000 Americans will die from the disease. While pancreatic cancer is more treatable when found early, most cases are not found until far too late, leaving patients without curative treatment options. Cooper's lab previously discovered a number of genes were linked directly with patient survival in pancreatic cancer. One example from that study identified a gene that, if it becomes overactive, makes cells more resistant to drugs by limiting normal stress response that would trigger cell death. Other genes studied by the Cooper Lab control different aspects of the body, like how closely packed cells are or how cells metabolize drugs. Through its non-profit research work, the Cooper Lab generated a trove of data on genes and proteins related to patient survival for people with pancreatic cancer. The lab's collaboration with CFD Research allows them to use this knowledge for testing potential treatment options. The first stage of the NIH grant will focus on finding potential drug molecules. For the collaboration, CFD Research will test a variety of molecules that could potentially inactivate the protein in question; the Cooper Lab will test those molecules to see if they work on pancreatic cancer cells. Press release
Mission Bio announced its expansion into single-cell multi-omics. The company’s proprietary technology, the Tapestri Platform, is now the first-ever single-cell multi-omic platform capable of detecting DNA and protein changes simultaneously from the same cell—a capability necessary for the development of impactful precision therapies. The company has partnered with BioLegend to co-develop the first commercial solution for combined DNA and protein analysis at the single-cell level. “To better confront cancer and develop dynamic solutions that mirror the disease’s evolution, we require a more profound insight into every component that drives disease,” explained Nigel Beard, Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Mission Bio, in a press release. “Our systems inherent technology allows us to probe multiple analytes at the same time from the same cell, enabling novel and integrated datasets. These new capabilities open up numerous applications, providing multi-omic insight into disease drivers so our customers can understand these complex biological mechanisms and accelerate cures.” Through its extension into multi-omics, a market projected to reach $5 billion by 2025, Mission Bio’s Tapestri Platform is now the first and only single-cell multi-omic platform to simultaneously detect single nucleotide variants (SNVs), copy number variations (CNVs) and proteins from the same cell. With access to multiple layers of the cellular profile, the Tapestri Platform provides the insight necessary to develop the most precise treatments that target the right set of biomarkers in diseased cells, opening the door for more successful patient outcomes. Press release
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) is one of three institutions launching the first phase of a collaboration to advance precision oncology through the creation of a clinico-genomic dataset with an international reach. VICC, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are participating in the Project GENIE (Genomics Evidence Neoplasia Information Exchange) Biopharma Consortium, a collaboration between the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and nine biopharmaceutical companies. The goal is to augment over the next five years the GENIE database, a publicly accessible international cancer registry assembled through data sharing between 19 of the world’s leading cancer centers. The registry already contains clinical-grade cancer genomic sequencing data from nearly 71,000 deidentified patients. During the first phase of the collaboration, VICC and the two other research institutions will detail the cancer journeys beyond genomic sequencing by also providing information on treatment histories and patient outcomes. This information will be linked to nearly 8,000 bladder, breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancer patients treated at Vanderbilt-Ingram, Dana-Farber and Memorial Sloan Kettering. Post
A new virtual companion to the Thermo Scientific TruScan RM Handheld Raman Analyzer is available for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers that continue to move toward more efficient modern digitization and cloud computing. This first-of-its-kind digital tool enables reprocessing of spectra using TruScan RM's algorithm in the cloud and allows for method validation without a physical sample. The Virtual TruScan RM (VTR) App is designed to save pharmaceutical manufacturers time and money by accelerating the release of new materials into production and reducing costs related to existing global method validation processes. This digital twin also strengthens manufacturers' ability to assess falsified and substandard medicines. The VTR App expands the capabilities of the TruScan RM Handheld Raman Analyzer and can be linked to Connect, Thermo Fisher's platform for secure, cloud-based data storage, scientific analysis apps and peer collaboration tools. Thermo Fisher Scientific's commitment to continuous innovation within their product lines with more comprehensive digital solutions aligns with its customers' goals for rapid modernization of their processes such as bringing method validation to the cloud. Press release
Quanterix announced it has entered into a licensing and supply arrangement with Siemens Healthineers for access to Quanterix’ proprietary Nf-L antibodies, which were recently acquired from UmanDiagnostics. Access to the Nf-L antibodies will allow Siemens Healthineers to begin developing blood-based Nf-L clinical tests for future commercialization. Financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement entered into with Siemens Healthineers marks yet another significant milestone in Quanterix’ mission to provide early detection of disease, measurements for treatment efficacy, and disease progression for neurological disorders. It comes on the heels of Quanterix’ recent acquisition of privately held UmanDiagnostics, which has become the provider of choice of Nf-L antibodies for biopharmaceutical and diagnostic applications. This acquisition allows Quanterix to supply researchers globally with the “best-in-class” Simoa Nf-L assays, while continuing to innovate new digital biomarkers to advance the field of research in diagnostics for neurological disorders. It also positions Quanterix to capitalize on the growth fueled by the momentum in Nf-L as a tremendously promising brain biomarker in research and clinical applications. Data presented at the recent European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) utilizing a sensitive Siemens Healthineers research Nf-L assay using Quanterix antibodies showed a high correlation with the established Simoa gold standard for measuring Nf-L in blood. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with as formidable a partner as Siemens Healthineers to accelerate the availability of an Nf-L test for patients around the world,” Kevin Hrusovsky, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of Quanterix, said in a press release. “This agreement demonstrates a clear path for our research customers working with Simoa technology to take groundbreaking advances like the Nf-L test to the clinic. We believe this will give our researchers even more confidence working with Simoa in research, while leveraging Siemens Healthineers’ global footprint to allow Quanterix to share meaningfully in the large IVD (in vitro diagnostics) market for blood-based neurology testing.” Press release
Cofactor Genomics announced they will provide early access to a new feature in their Predictive Immune Modeling platform which enables cell-state characterization within FFPE tissue samples. Measuring cell-states, such as T cell exhaustion, has been cited as integral to improving the accuracy of patient selection for immune checkpoint inhibitors. The field has previously failed to reach consensus on a short list of individual analytes that effectively characterize exhaustion using incumbent technologies, leading Cofactor to address this challenge using multidimensional biomarker models. Cofactor is offering access to the technology through the “Functional to FFPE” Early Access Grant Program, which will support solid tumor or engineered cell therapy exploratory studies, with up to $100,000 in reagents, sequencing, and analysis support covered by the company. "The ability of RNA-based models to accurately characterize these important cell states in FFPE tissue samples is exactly the reason why Cofactor has invested in Predictive Immune Modeling. No other technology – genomic or proteomic – has been able to accomplish this in FFPE,” Jon Armstrong, Cofactor’s Chief Scientific Officer, said in an official statement. “We have to move beyond just detecting cells, and better characterize how those cells are influenced by their microenvironment.” Press release
Genomenon announced the release of Mastermind version 2.0. The Genomic Search Engine now includes the ability to search the entirety of the genomic literature by phenotypes (symptoms). This new functionality will further accelerate diagnosis of patients with genetic and rare diseases. Patients, particularly those with rare diseases, don’t always have a name for their condition. This makes it very difficult to diagnose and treat their disease. The ability to search the genetic literature by symptoms (following the Human Phenotype Ontology, or HPO) helps clinicians narrow their diagnosis to the appropriate disease and treatment. Genomenon’s Mastermind Genomic Search Engine is the world’s largest and most complete source of genomic evidence. Doctors and researchers use Mastermind to find the scientific evidence relevant to their patients’ DNA profile for diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations. The new release of Mastermind includes a more streamlined search function to help doctors more quickly scour through the millions of research articles to find cases that match their patients’ genomic profile and symptoms. Press release
Biofourmis announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Biovotion, a leading developer of a cutting-edge clinical-grade wearable biosensor platform. The acquisition includes all of Biovotion's assets, including the market-leading Everion biosensor and more than 60 global patents covering most of the wearable and sensor technology that exists for the arm or hand. The acquisition of Biovotion enables Biofourmis to offer proprietary, clinical-grade wearables as part of its Biovitals ecosystem. Clinical-grade wearables are becoming integral across all areas of healthcare, offering continuous real-time physiological data formerly only available in clinical settings. Combining Biovotion's best-in-class wearables with Biofourmis' digital therapeutics platform and its leading artificial intelligence (AI)-driven predictive analytics creates the most comprehensive digital therapeutics solution on the market. Press release
Biofourmis also announced it has been selected by Novartis to collaborate on a commercial project for managing patients with heart failure (HF) beginning in Southeast Asia, with potential plans to expand globally. The goal of the program is to improve clinical outcomes by using Biofourmis' lead product BiovitalsHF, which captures data from wearable biosensors and leverages the FDA-cleared Biovitals Analytics Engine to identify early signs of HF exacerbations to enable early interventions in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction. HF is a life-threatening, progressive disease with debilitating symptoms and is the top global cause of hospitalizations for patients older than age 65. About 85% of hospitalized patients suffer from an acute HF event at least once, and 43% of patients are admitted at least four times. Recent data from the CHAMP-HF registry demonstrate that fewer than one in four HF patients with reduced ejection fraction are on Guideline Directed Medication Therapy (GDMT), and only 1% are receiving target doses of medications. Press release
Bridge Connector announced Destinations, an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) that rapidly and easily connects health data systems without the need for code. Interoperability has long been a challenge in the health care industry, with nearly one-third of US hospitals and health systems citing insufficient data-sharing efforts, even within their own organizations, and fewer than four in 10 are able to share data with other hospitals. Destinations aims to bring the advantages of interoperability to health care organizations of every size. The complexity of integrating data platforms has created inefficiencies that cost time and money, often requiring dedicated IT teams or consultants with large implementation fees. Beyond the technical and the bottom line, poorly executed integrations can cause patient data miscommunication, leading to dangerous medical errors. As the health care industry looks to eliminate wasteful spending and promote value-based care, interoperability and data integration are among the first areas in need of significant reform. Press release
Life Image and its strategic partner, Graticule, announced the availability of GLIMPS (Graticule Life Image Machine Parsed Set) data licensing subscriptions in AWS Data Exchange, a new service that makes it easy for millions of Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers to securely find, subscribe to, and use third-party data in the cloud. “What gets many of our customers excited about AWS Data Exchange is the number of innovative organizations offering novel and unique data on the service,” Stephen Orban, General Manager, AWS Data Exchange, Amazon Web Services, said in a press release. “We are delighted to welcome Life Image and Graticule to the AWS Data Exchange to help the medical community improve patient care.” Graticule has published GLIMPS in the AWS Data Exchange. GLIMPS is a de-identified patient level data set including a summary of features generated from NLP processing from Life Image data, which has been de-identified using industry-leading tools with Life Image’s own expert determination service that uses a combination of human validators with a proprietary machine learning algorithm specifically designed to catch personal health information (PHI) that can be hiding within the image pixels or meta tags. The HIPAA-compliant repository of diagnostic images provides insights from a broad set of geographically-diverse providers in the US that contain a rapidly growing cohort of 140,000 patients, 360,000 studies, and 92 million de-identified images. Because much of the important data in imaging is stored in unstructured reports or within images, it is difficult to construct queries to identify studies with features of interest to solve researcher questions. GLIMPS provides a safe, structured view of the patient-level medical information by providing coded values using open vocabularies such as ICD9 or SNOMED to execute feasibility analysis. Press release
Interpace Diagnostics Group announced that it has changed its name to Interpace Biosciences to better reflect its new business model that combines its traditional esoteric molecular diagnostic business with its recent acquisition of the BioPharma business of Cancer Genetics (CGIX), now known as Interpace Pharma Solutions, that uses its proprietary test systems and platforms to support drug discovery and development valued by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Press release
Arrakis Therapeutics announced that it has appointed Katrine Bosley as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Ms. Bosley is a proven biotechnology entrepreneur with nearly 30 years of experience in the biotech industry as a leader of emerging companies with broad platforms for innovative medicines. Most recently, Ms. Bosley served as the Chief Executive Officer of Editas Medicine, and previously as CEO of Avila Therapeutics until its acquisition by Celgene Corporation. Press release
Packet has appointed Gary Green as its Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). In his new role, Green will lead Packet’s go-to-market strategy, including global sales and strategic alliances, and drive the company’s continued expansion into the Enterprise and Edge markets. Green is a veteran sales leader who has helped scale billion-dollar sales and partner organizations across the Enterprise software space, the company said. Most recently, Green served as SVP of Worldwide Sales & Services for Puppet, where he led the global sales initiatives, including direct and channel sales, as well as Customer Success. From 2002 to 2016, Green held a variety of leadership positions at VMware including most recently VP, Worldwide Sales for its network and security business unit. Previously, he was VMware’s VP of Global Strategic Alliances, driving revenues in excess of $1 billion. Press release
