Business

Microsoft leads formation of bioinformatics group

The BioIT Alliance hopes to accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs and treatments personalized to an individual's health and genetic makeup.

By Tyler Chin — Posted May 22, 2006

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

A group of companies led by Microsoft Corp. have announced an alliance that will work to accelerate the growth of bioinformatics, an emerging field whose ultimate goal is to make personalized medicine a reality.

For that to happen, a vast amount of data from disparate sources, including patients' records and genetic information, must be automated, captured, analyzed and shared. Those tasks require a tremendous amount of information technology tools and raw computing processing power.

The BioIT Alliance, announced in April, says it will dedicate itself to developing such technology.

"We know there's been tremendous public investment today in medicine, particularly in computational biology, the human genome and many other things in molecular biology, but the discoveries in that world haven't found their way in any pervasive way into the medical system," said Don Rule, a platform-strategy adviser and the point man for Microsoft on the BioIT Alliance. "The goal [of the alliance] is figure out what we can to do accelerate the process of bringing companies together and enabling them to take advantage of existing knowledge and put it in the hands of doctors and their patients as quickly as possible."

Members of the alliance will develop and proof concept tools based on Microsoft technologies, which they will commercialize if the tests go well, Rule said. The alliance has approximately a dozen founding members drawn from the health care, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, software and hardware industries. Members include Microsoft, Sun Microsystems Inc., the Scripps Research Institute, Affymetrix Inc. and Accelrys Software Inc.

Although the field of bioinformatics is relatively new, it already has aroused concern from privacy advocates who fear that insurance companies and employers could use genetic data, for example, to discriminate against people. "We understand completely [that privacy] is going to be incredibly important and we're going be very concerned about it and making sure we're not introducing the capability to do harm [to patient privacy]," Rule said.

Microsoft isn't the first technology company to enter the bioinformatics field. For example, IBM Corp. in recent years has signed agreements to collaborate with several health care organizations to implement the technology infrastructure, including data warehouse and analytic tools based on its products, to advance development of personalized medicine.

IBM's clinical partners include the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Utah Health Sciences Center.

IBM is not a member of the BioIT Alliance.

Back to top


External links

BioIT Alliance (link)

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn