• Patent Reform's 'Brave New World'

    Sep 19, 2011, 00:10 AM by Michael Croft

    Bio-IT World | Expert Commentary | On Friday—after several years of seemingly dead-end discussions about reforming the patent system in the U.S.—President Obama signed the America Invents Law. The law generally is considered the most significant reform in U.S. patent law in the last 60 years, although many parties do not think it goes far enough.   

     

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  • Genzyme Veteran Gives $10m to Open Personalized Medicine Center at Mass General

    Sep 15, 2011, 00:45 AM by Michael Croft
    Boston Globe | Retired biotech executive Henri Termeer, who built Genzyme Corp, is donating $10 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to establish it as a leader in personalized medicne.
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  • BGI, Merck Announce Biomarker Collaboration

    Sep 13, 2011, 01:20 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | Merck and BGI today announced a collaboration to focus on the discovery and development of biomarkers and genomic technologies, an extension of last year’s statement of intent to build a working relationship.
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  • Korean Genome Project Finds Korea-Only SNPs

    Sep 13, 2011, 00:10 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | Yesterday, the Korean Personal Genome Project announced the release of 20 full Korean genomes, the KPGP-20. The genomes revealed 60,000 SNPs that seem unique to Koreans. 
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  • Cliff Reid on Advice and Honesty

    Sep 12, 2011, 03:50 AM by Michael Croft
    San Francisco Business Times | Cliff Reid, president and CEO of Complete Genomics, talks about his mentor's best advice and his comittment to honesty.
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  • Niederhuber on Inova/Complete Genomics Partnership and ‘Next-Gen Medicine’

    Sep 9, 2011, 09:50 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | John Niederhuber, CEO of the Inova Translational Medicine Institute, discusses the multi-million-dollar deal with Complete Genomics to sequence the 1,500 genomes including 250 pre-term babies, the challenges of interpreting the data, and the future of what he calls 'next-gen medicine.'
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  • Eagle to Build Genetics Cloud

    Sep 9, 2011, 01:00 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | Eagle Genomics has announced that it has found a way to slash the amount of time it takes to store genomic information using cloud computing technology. The hope is that storing sequencing data and analyses in the cloud will allow researchers quicker access, which in turn would enable faster diagnoses. 
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  • PerkinElmer to Acquire Caliper Life Sciences for $600 Million

    Sep 8, 2011, 07:20 AM by Michael Croft

    Bio-IT World | PerkinElmer has signed an agreement to acquire its Massachusetts neighbor, Caliper Life Sciences, for about $600 million. The acquisition is PerkinElmer's seventh this year, including CambridgeSoft and Geospiza.  

     

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  • How Amira Beat the Odds

    Sep 8, 2011, 03:55 AM by Michael Croft
    Xconomy | Amira Pharmaceuticals sold an early stage drug to Bristol-Myers for $325 million upfront cash plus milestone payments. So how did they do it?
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  • Quebec’s Genizon Biosciences Closes its Doors

    Sep 7, 2011, 14:35 PM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | EXCLUSIVE -- Genizon Biosciences, the Montreal-based genomics company seeking the genes responsible for inherited disorders in the Quebec founder population, has ceased operations. The firm was put into receivership by the Superior Court of Quebec in July.
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  • Taking the Cloud from Amazon

    Sep 6, 2011, 00:50 AM by Michael Croft
    CNET | Taking market share from Amazon Web Services would be tough, but not impossible, and there are a few ways to do it. Competitors could compete head-to-head, change the rules of the game, or join an open cloud ecosystem. 
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  • GWAS Reveals Genetic Variance in Metabolism

    Sep 6, 2011, 00:50 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | A study published last week in Nature establishes a strong association between biochemical levels and the genetics of an individual. Researchers looked at genetic variation in human metabolism and discovered 37 new variants associated with concentrations of metabolites in the blood. The Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) was carried out by researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen Institute in Munich, Germany, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, King’s College and Metabolon.
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  • Building Biohacker Tools for Garage Labs

    Sep 2, 2011, 00:00 AM by Michael Croft
    Wired | CoFactor is a new company that aims to enable "biohackers"--individuals with pop-up garage labs who want to do biology outside of traditional environments.
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  • How to Build Successful Biotech Startups

    Sep 1, 2011, 00:30 AM by Michael Croft
    Xconomy | MIT's Bob Langer has founded about 24 companies and has 800 patents issued or pending. Langer talks about turning foundation and government money into startup successes.
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  • Ed Liu on Singapore Science and Jackson Lab Priorities

    Aug 29, 2011, 15:30 PM by Michael Croft

    Bio-IT World | "Singapore needs a refresh, and perhaps I do as well,” says Edison Liu, the CEO-elect of The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), who reflected last week on his decade in Singapore and his priorities for his return next year to the US at the legendary mammalian genetics institute.  

     

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  • Sequencing Shows World's Cholera Comes From Single Source

    Aug 29, 2011, 00:30 AM by Michael Croft
    BBC | By sequencing the genomes of 154 cholera bacteria samples, researchers at the Sanger Institute have identified a single global source: the Bay of Bengal.
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  • Of Mice and Men: Edison Liu Leaves Singapore to Head Jackson Laboratory

    Aug 26, 2011, 08:55 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | Edison Liu, arguably the most prominent medical researcher in Singapore and the two-term president of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO), is returning to the United States after ten years to become the new president and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.
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  • UK Launches Cancer Genomics Project

    Aug 26, 2011, 01:30 AM by Michael Croft
    Nature News | The UK will launch a personalized medicine pilot project next month. The project will be led by Cancer Research UK and the Stratified Medicine Proamme and will screen 9,000 cancer patients.
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  • Samsung Launches Genome Analysis Service, Offers Free Genome

    Aug 23, 2011, 03:50 AM by Michael Croft
    Bio-IT World | Samsung SDS is launching beta testing of its new next generation sequencing data analysis service beginning September 1. The service will be in beta testing mode from September to November and will be offering free genome analysis (one genome per researcher) during the testing phase.
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  • NHGRI Funds Electronic Medical Record Genomics Network

    Aug 23, 2011, 00:15 AM by Michael Croft

    Bio-IT World | Grants worth $25 millions over the next four years from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will support researchers that are part of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) network.The grants will fund research to demonstrate that patients' genomic information linked to disease characteristics and symptoms in their electronic medical records can be used to improve their care.    

     

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