Longitude Prize on ALS Launches, UK Biobank Completes World’s Largest Whole Body Imaging Project, More

By Bio-IT World Staff 

July 31, 2025 | The Longitude Prize on ALS, presented at this year’s Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, has launched to incentivize and reward cutting edge AI-based approaches to transform drug discovery for the treatment of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis); UK Biobank completed the world’s largest whole body imaging project; and more. 

The Longitude Prize on ALS, a new $10 million global challenge prize, has launched to incentivize and reward cutting edge AI-based approaches to transform drug discovery for the treatment of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), the most common form of motor neuron disease. This project was presented as the final plenary keynote at this year’s Bio-IT World Conference & Expo. Press release.

UK Biobank completed the world’s largest whole body imaging project, scanning the brains, hearts, abdomens, blood vessels, bones, and joints of 100,000 volunteers. Since 2015, UK Biobank’s imaging data have been released in batches and scientists around the world are using these data to develop better diagnostic tests for life-altering conditions such as heart disease, dementia and cancer. Soon, approved researchers will have access to over one billion de-identified images, from 100,000 volunteers. Press release.

The Pistoia Alliance has launched two complementary initiatives to transform pharmacovigilance (PV) in response to growing member demand. A new dedicated AI in Safety & PV Community of Experts (CoE) will explore how to apply AI safely, ethically and effectively within pharmacovigilance workflows. While the Pharmacovigilance Systems & Processes Standards (PS²) project will establish a set of standard solution and integration requirements for PV systems to reduce duplicated effort and foster greater innovation in common PV workflows using AI. Press release. 

Seegene unveiled its fully automated PCR testing system, CURECA, and its data analytics platform, STAgora. CURECA is the world's first system to fully automate the entire PCR testing process—from sample storage and pre-treatment to nucleic acid extraction, amplification, and result analysis—without any human intervention. Designed for 24/7 continuous operation, the system minimizes human error and dramatically improves the consistency and reliability of the test results. STAgora is Seegene's statistical platform that collects and analyzes real-time PCR diagnostic data to support clinical decision-making. By aggregating test data uploaded from hospitals around the world, the platform provides integrated insights into regional infection trends, hospital-level positivity rates, and patterns of co-infection. Press release.

Leica Biosystems unveiled ChromoPlex III Triple Detection RUO, a chromogenic multiplex immunohistochemistry detection system engineered to simplify assay setup and reduce variability. ChromoPlex III is built to fit into Leica Biosystems’ end-to-end translational research ecosystem. The detection system is designed to help researchers who seek more accessible and clinically relevant multiplex IHC tools to advance spatial biology and better characterize the tumor microenvironment. Press release.

10x Genomics and the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR GIS) have entered a research collaboration for the Target Inference from Spatialomics & Histology Using Multimodal AI & Phenotypes (TISHUMAP) project. A*STAR GIS and 10x Genomics will analyze up to 2,500 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded clinical tissue samples, including those from gastric, liver and colorectal cancers. This initiative will leverage 10x Genomics' Xenium platform and advanced artificial intelligence to analyze thousands of tissue samples with the goal of accelerating drug target discovery and enabling precision medicine for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Press release.

SandboxAQ and iOncologi announced a strategic collaboration to jointly develop, validate, and commercialize a novel high-fidelity mRNA vaccine for glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor in adults. The joint effort combines SandboxAQ's proven software and biologics technology for drug candidate identification and lead optimization with iOncologi's deep tech immunotherapy design and clinical expertise to overcome longstanding barriers in brain cancer treatment. Press release.

Elix and the Life Intelligence Consortium (LINC) have commercialized an artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform kMoL that incorporates multiple AI models trained using federated learning on data provided by 16 pharmaceutical companies. The platform allows multiple companies to collaboratively develop a suite of AI models without disclosing their confidential data externally.  Press release.

Eisai has adopted the Elix Discovery platform to help with fast compound design by optimizing various parameters, including predictive models created on the graphical user interface (GUI), by carefully selected generative models including Elix’s proprietary models. Press release.

Yourgene Health has launched LightBench Discover, a high-precision 3-in-1 instrument for genomic research labs conducting long-read sequencing. LightBench Discover is designed to replace the need for multiple instruments in labs conducting long-read HiFi sequencing. LightBench Discover also delivers fluorometric quantification to provide cost-effectiveness and high-performance that enhances efficiency. Press release.

Waters Corporation and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) announced a definitive agreement to combine BD's Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business with Waters. The companies expect the agreement to bring together complementary technologies to serve high-volume testing in attractive and regulated end markets; accelerate Waters’ expansion into multiple high-growth adjacent end-markets; apply Waters’ proven execution model to unlock the full potential of BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business; and more. Press release.

Secarna Pharmaceuticals and Vect-Horus have entered a strategic research collaboration to develop RNA-targeted therapeutics capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier  to address diseases of the central nervous system. The partnership will combine Vect-Horus’ platform, VECTrans, a versatile delivery system focused on shuttling therapeutic or imaging payloads across biological barriers, with Secarna’s proprietary OligoCreator oligonucleotide discovery platform. The combination of these two technologies will expand Secarna’s targeted delivery portfolio, offering a novel approach that could potentially transform the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Press release.

Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²) and Brain Canada announced an international partnership to advance research and transform care for people living with bipolar disorder. As part of the partnership, BD² also announced its first international Integrated Network site at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. The BD² Integrated Network is the largest collaborative scientific network focused on bipolar disorder. As part of the partnership, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute will receive $2.3 million to join the BD² Integrated Network, a collaborative research and clinical care model that will improve care, interventions, and outcomes for people living with bipolar disorder. Press release.

Thermo Fisher has entered a strategic collaboration with Xcellbio to advance research in regulatory T cells (Tregs) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). The joint research will focus on developing new methodologies to enhance the efficacy of Tregs and TILs in therapeutic applications. The collaboration also seeks to streamline workflows while improving scalability and reproducibility in cell therapy manufacturing to help make these critical treatments more accessible to patients. Press release.

Siemens AG completed the acquisition of Dotmatics. Dotmatics will form part of Siemens’ Digital Industries Software business to further expand Siemens’ Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) portfolio. The acquisition enables Siemens to scale its technologies into Life Sciences to fully address growth opportunities in this market. Dotmatics’ Scientific Intelligence Platform, Luma, and its scientific applications enable AI-powered multi-modal drug development, seamless collaboration, and contextualized data creating a connected digital thread across the research-to-production value chain. Press release.