StemCell Therapy

The researchers measured the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and liver fat (LF) from magnetic resonance images of 12,276 participants from the UK Biobank, the researchers assessed and divided individuals into four groups defined by sex-specific median values of VAT and LF: low VAT-low LF, low VAT-high LF, high VAT-low LF, and high VAT-high LF. Participants were followed for 1.3 years (on average) to detect VAT-LF groups' associations with CHD incidence.

In total, 176 CHD events were recorded, revealing that high visceral adiposity increased risk for CHD; this effect was exacerbated in those who also had low liver fat elevating the risk for CHD greater than two-fold compared with low VAT-low LF. High liver fat in combination with low visceral adiposity (low VAT-high LF), did not increase the risk for CHD. After adjusting for age and body mass index, high VAT-high LF association with CHD diminished, but the increased risk of CHD among those with high VAT-low LF persisted.

"We believe knowledge of patient risk for disease is limited when assessment is restricted to single, isolated fat depots. When developing NAFLD treatments, a decrease in liver fat alone may not be sufficient to lower patients' cardiometabolic risk. In fact, the research shows that decreasing liver fat without resolving visceral obesity may put the patient at greater risk of heart disease. This is what we want to investigate further,"stated Jennifer Linge, Lead Scientist, Personalized Medicine at AMRA Medical.

The results suggest that heterogeneity of body fat distribution affects CHD risk. Specifically, risk for CHD increased among those with high visceral adiposity, which intensifies in the presence of low liver fat indicating that liver triglyceride regulation plays a vital role in cardiovascular health in the context of visceral obesity.

Learn more about these findings by viewing the recorded presentation. The corresponding abstract "Can Low Liver Fat Be Bad for Your Heart? The High Visceral Fat, Low Liver Fat Phenotype: A Risk Factor for Coronary Heart Disease" (number 89) can be found in the journal HEPATOLOGY.

About UK Biobank

UK Biobankis large-scalebiomedical database and research resource, containing in-depth genetic andhealth information from halfa million UK participants. The database, which isregularly augmented with additional data, is globally accessible to approvedresearchersand scientists undertaking vital research into the most common andlife-threatening diseases. UK Biobank's researchresource is a majorcontributor to the advancement of modern medicine and treatment and has enabledseveral scientific discoveriesthat improve human health.

About AMRA Medical

AMRAis a ground-breaking international digital health company at the forefront of medicalimaging and precision medicine. The company has developed a new global standard in bodycomposition assessment, the ability to automatically produce multiple fat and musclebiomarkers with unrivaled precision and accuracy, as well as contextual disease insights allfrom a single, rapid, whole-body MRI.

SOURCE AMRA Medical

Start

See more here:
AMRA Medical Research Reveals New MRI-based Data Connected to Risk for Coronary Heart Disease at The Liver Meeting Digital Experience - PRNewswire

Precise treatment leads to resolution of patient's debilitating symptoms and complete remodeling of her lymphatic system

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have resolved a severe lymphatic disorder in a girl with Noonan Syndrome that had led to upper gastrointestinal bleeding, fluid collection around the lungs, and numerous surgeries that had been unable to resolve her symptoms. By identifying a genetic mutation along a pathway related to lymphatic vessel development and function, the research team was able to target the pathway using an existing drug they had used in a previous case to remodel a patient's lymphatic system.

The case study, which was published today in Pediatrics, describes a resolution of the patient's symptoms within three months while on the medication.

"This study is quite significant," said first author Yoav Dori, MD, PhD, Director of the Jill and Mark Fishman Center for Lymphatic Disorders at CHOP. "Inhibiting this pathway seems to have sweeping, widespread effects on the lymphatic system. How this process occurs is not fully understood, but is remarkable in its speed and breadth. This gives us a lot of hope for treating other patients with genetic mutations along this same pathway in the future."

The patient described in the paper, Maria, first came to CHOP when she was 14, after experiencing severe anemia due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as other symptoms including fluid build-up in the cavity around her lungs, chronic fatigue, delayed puberty, and difficulty gaining weight. Maria had been born with Noonan Syndrome, a genetic disorder that prevents normal development in various parts of the body and often results in short stature, heart defects and other physical problems, including an abnormal lymphatic system. Despite aggressive medical therapy elsewhere, Maria continued to bleed internally, and she underwent multiple blood transfusions to try to stabilize her health.

Within two days of transferring to CHOP, the lymphatics team, led by Dori, determined Maria had many lymphatic irregularities, which were leading to internal bleeding and lung problems, so they scheduled Maria's first intervention, a lymphatic embolization procedure that would seal the leaky vessels in her gut.

However, within two months of the procedure, Maria's gastrointestinal bleeding recurred. Over the following 8 months, she underwent two additional procedures, as well as a cauterization procedure to close off some of the blood vessels in her gut, but the benefits of each procedure lasted only about three months before the bleeding and her symptoms returned.

Based on whole exome sequencing done at CHOP's Center for Applied Genomics, the research team learned that Maria had a genetic mutation in the SOS1 gene, which operates along the RAS-MAPK pathway. This pathway involves mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK), and Maria's mutation caused an overproduction of MEK, which resulted in the uncontrolled proliferation of her lymphatic vessels.

The research team had previously used a MEK inhibitor in another patient with a severe lymphatic disorder with great success. That patient had a mutation in the ARAF gene, which is also on the RAS-MAPK pathway. Within months of beginning treatment with trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, the patient saw a resolution of his symptoms and a complete remodeling of his lymphatic system.

Given that SOS1 operates on the same pathway as ARAF, Jean Belasco, MD, an oncologist in CHOP's Cancer Center who co-led the study, applied for compassionate use of the drug in Maria's case, given the lack of other treatment options.

"The success of trametinib in another patient with a mutation on the RAS-MAPK pathway encouraged us to try this approach, since other procedures and therapies continued to be unsuccessful," Belasco said. "Although we are in the early days of this type of personalized medicine, the hope is that by looking at patients' mutations, we can find more drugs and better care for patients with genetic diseases."

Within three months of starting the drug, Maria's vital signs stabilized. The bleeding stopped, her electrolyte, hemoglobin, and albumin levels returned to normal, and she began to gain weight. Maria's mother noticed that Maria wasn't going through periods of exhaustion anymore, and her pallor improved.

"She looks better than she's ever looked," her mother said. "She looks like a normal teenager. It's like night and day. She's also a lot happier. I think she knew deep down she was dying. The medicine gave her hope."

Hakon Hakonarson, Director of the Center for Applied Genomics and co-author of the paper, said that although Maria's SOS1 mutation is distinctly different than the ARAF mutation seen in the other patient, the drug was equally effective because it targets and blocks the function of MEK. He likened the scenario to a pathway where 15 events need to occur for a cell to function. Maria's SOS1 mutation might occur at step nine, whereas the ARAF mutation might occur at step three, but both genes are on a chain that ultimately passes through a tunnel that leads to phosphorylation and overactivity of MEK. Since both mutations were so-called gain of function mutations, MEK and thus lymphatic activity was overexpressed in both patients. The MEK inhibitor put the brakes on a system in overdrive.

"Remarkable advances in genetics have allowed us to uncover these mutations and cluster them into selective pathways and determine effective therapies based on genetic mutations with very high precision," said Hakonarson. "No one could have guessed that this drug would have worked for Maria without knowing the underlying genetics. This discovery is extremely important because Noonan Syndrome has the biggest patient population with alterations in MEK signaling. Not all Noonan patients will have mutations that respond to this therapy, but a very good number of them will."

He added that the treatment could also benefit patients with other genetic defects, though he noted the ongoing use of the drug treats the symptoms caused by these mutations, but does not fix the gene or cure the underlying condition.

"MEK inhibition has the potential to have significant effects on other organ systems affected by RAS-MAPK gene defects, such as the heart, eyes, skin and the coagulation system," Hakonarson said.

Hakonarson is also part of CHOP's Comprehensive Vascular Anomalies Program (CVAP), a CHOP Frontier Program that uses state-of-the-art genomics and personalized research strategies to determine the causes of complex vascular conditions and identify targeted therapies. The program works closely with the Lymphatic Imaging and Interventions Frontier Program, which is led by Dori. CHOP's Frontier Programs conduct cutting-edge research that translates into advanced clinical care. The CVAP, in particular, draws on the extensive clinical and genomic research capacity within the Cancer Center and Center for Applied Genomics.

Even with the success of the breakthrough treatment pioneered by these programs, it is not entirely clear why MEK inhibitors not only resolve patients' symptoms but also completely remodel their lymphatic systems. Hakonarson said one possibility is that when mutated genes cause uncontrolled growth of the lymphatic system, the body's vessels leak fluid everywhere in the body. When you shut down the unregulated growth, other homeostatic mechanisms that are balancing the system come into effect, so the overreactive cells that were growing out of control die and are replaced by normal cells that gradually build up the lymphatic system.

Whatever the mechanism, Maria's mother said her daughter had no hesitation at being the first patient with Noonan Syndrome to try this treatment to resolve a lymphatic issue.

"Maria saw the value from the beginning," she said. "She saw the value for herself, but she was also thinking of other Noonan kids, some of whom have passed away from lymphatic issues. She was willing and eager."

Dori et al. "Severe Lymphatic Disorder Resolved with MEK Inhibition in a Noonan Patient with SOS1 Mutation," Pediatrics, published online November 20, 2020, doi: 10.1542/2020-000123

About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 564-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu

Contact: Natalie SolimeoChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia267-426-6246solimeon@chop.edu

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chop-researchers-reverse-severe-lymphatic-disorder-in-patient-with-noonan-syndrome-by-targeting-genetic-pathway-301177697.html

SOURCE Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Read the original here:
CHOP Researchers Reverse Severe Lymphatic Disorder in Patient with Noonan Syndrome by Targeting Genetic Pathway - BioSpace

This article was originally published here

EPMA J. 2020 Nov 13:1-21. doi: 10.1007/s13167-020-00230-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The long evolutionary battle between humans and pathogens has played an important role in shaping the current network of host-pathogen interactions. Each organ brings new challenges from the perspective of a pathogen to establish a suitable niche for survival while subverting the protective mechanisms of the host. Lungs, the organ for oxygen exchange, have been an easy target for pathogens due to its accessibility. The organ has evolved diverse capabilities to provide the flexibility required for an organisms health and at the same time maintain protective functionality to prevent and resolve assault by pathogens. The pathogenic invasions are strongly challenged by healthy lung architecture which includes the presence and activity of the epithelium, mucous, antimicrobial proteins, surfactants, and immune cells. Competitively, the pathogens in the form of viruses, bacteria, and fungi have evolved an arsenal of strategies that can over-ride the hosts protective mechanisms. While bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) can survive in dormant form for years before getting active in humans, novel pathogens can wreak havoc as they pose a high risk of morbidity and mortality in a very short duration of time. Recently, a coronavirus strain SARS-CoV-2 has caused a pandemic which provides us an opportunity to look at the host manipulative strategies used by respiratory pathogens. Their ability to hide, modify, evade, and exploit cells processes are key to their survival. While pathogens like M. tuberculosis have been infecting humans for thousands of years, SARS-CoV-2 has been the cause of the recent pandemic. Molecular understanding of the strategies used by these pathogens could greatly serve in design of predictive, preventive, personalized medicine (PPPM). In this article, we have emphasized on the clinically relevant evasive strategies of the pathogens in the lungs with emphasis on M. tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2. The molecular basis of these evasive strategies illuminated through advances in genomics, cell, and structural biology can assist in the mapping of vulnerable molecular networks which can be exploited translationally. These evolutionary approaches can further assist in generating screening and therapeutic options for susceptible populations and could be a promising approach for the prediction, prevention of disease, and the development of personalized medicines. Further, tailoring the clinical data of COVID-19 patients with their physiological responses in light of known host-respiratory pathogen interactions can provide opportunities to improve patient profiling and stratification according to identified therapeutic targets.

PMID:33204369 | PMC:PMC7661834 | DOI:10.1007/s13167-020-00230-1

Read more:
Infections of the lung: a predictive, preventive and personalized perspective through the lens of evolution, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and its...

As one of the nations top 25 public research universities, UConn is home to many faculty and student inventors. The discoveries they make in the lab could some day become products and services that help society. They could also launch Connecticut companies that provide high paying jobs in the state. But its not always easy to think like an entrepreneur when youve been trained as an academic researcher.

Abhijit (Jit) Banerjee, Ph.D., MBA, is leading UConns mission to help more faculty and students participate in commercialization activities. Banerjee, who has extensive experience facilitating public-private partnerships, joined UConns Office of the Vice President for Research as Associate Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in May 2020. He leads Technology Commercialization Services, a group that specializes in transforming UConn inventions into products, services, and companies that help society.

Our efforts to bring the fruits of our research to the world are tremendously strengthened by Jits arrival at UConn, says President Thomas Katsouleas. His background, skills, and passion for the work are going to help us become even more prolific and successful in demonstrating the value of the world-class research being done at UConn.

Banerjee recently answered a few questions about becoming a Husky during a pandemic and the importance of innovation to tackle the worlds great challenges.

Connecticut has a rich history of innovation and invention. How does UConn contribute to this legacy? What do you think the University can do to help the states economic health now and in the future?

The innovation engine runs 24/7, 365 days at UConn. The Universitys 14 schools and colleges are filled with world-class faculty and students who are building on UConns strong legacy of innovation. Our footprint isnt limited to the local geography either. UConn has a statewide impact, with programs like the UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP), a flagship program that supports UConn companies as well as external ventures. TIPs three locations in Storrs, Farmington, and the soon-to-be-launched Stamford site support the states economy because it grows and attracts companies that want to locate in Connecticut and will create jobs here. Another example is the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park, which is a world-class engineering living lab that is an asset to the states engineering and manufacturing industry.

With all of these hubs of innovation, I am convinced that the University still has too many well kept secrets for businesses and citizens around our state. We have expert faculty in every field, talented students to bolster the states innovation workforce, and unparalleled facilities to help solve problems and make breakthroughs for any industry sector, from manufacturing to personalized medicine.

In a fiercely competitive national environment where every state is aggressively looking to expand their funding and improve their economic health, success comes when the state, its agencies, and major innovation engines like UConn work hand-in-hand. I plan to do everything I can to help UConn continue our collaborative approach to support state economic development goals.

In your newly created role within the Office of the Vice President for Research, you are responsible for leading UConns efforts to enhance entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology commercialization for UConn companies and external ventures. How do you and your team support these efforts?

The Technology Commercialization Service (TCS) team is responsible for protecting intellectual property that is generated at UConn and bringing inventions from bench to marketplace or bedside through commercialization. A major focus for TCS is fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem that enables faculty and students to pursue commercialization of their discoveries whether it be through licensing to existing companies or forming startups. The TCS team has dedicated and passionate individuals who are deeply committed to the University and all faculty, regardless of the discipline.

As Ive met with leaders at each school and college, it has become clear that there is an opportunity for TCS to take much bigger and strategic roles across the University, and we are excited to take that on.

How has the pandemic affected innovation, in your opinion? What challenges and opportunities does it provide for faculty and student innovators?

The impact of COVID-19 on global well-being is now being felt in every sphere, from mental health to the economy to education. This pandemic has taught us to quickly adapt, pivot, and rely on both instincts and innovation to get through this and survive the new normal.

As the world collectively works to find a vaccine for this pathogen, we shouldnt stop innovating and seeking solutions for other major challenges we still face. Climate change, wild fires, tsunami, and hurricanes are impacting both human lives and our ecosystem. As we know, any slight imbalance in this ecosystem can cause disasters which are often irreversible. There are thousands of other conditions that still need effective treatments. We can still do more to develop innovative technologies that support the defense sector. For all of these problems, science, innovation, and commercialization can help find solutions. I am confident UConn inventors will be part of the solution and TCS is here to support them on that path.

You joined UConn while the University was still in the middle of the COVID-19 ramp down. How do you like being a Husky so far during these unprecedented times?

COVID-19 has changed the way we conduct business and interact, and for the unforeseen future, we need to accept this as the new normal. Our individual responsibility to stay healthy and follow guidance from scientific experts to reduce risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection adds another layer of complexity. From what Ive seen so far, at the individual and organizational level, UConn Nation is pivoting and adapting to continue working towards our educational, research, and service goals.

But I have to admit that even before I came to UConn, I felt an affinity for Husky Nation, since our family dog was a Siberian Husky named Mishi. We recently lost him to cancer, but he brought out the best in us as humans and I can see that same core value in everyone Ive met so far at UConn.

To learn more about UConn technologies and startups, visit http://www.innovation.uconn.edu

Follow UConn Research on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Read the original here:
Q&A: The Magic of University Entrepreneurship - UConn Today

Oct. 27, 2020 12:00 UTC

The only tertiary analysis appliance on the market, CompStor Insight delivers 7x faster annotation in an easy to use solution with integrated workflows, multi-user support, needing no special IT skills

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OmniTier Inc., an AI and multiomics application company whose bioinformatics solutions help deliver the promise of personalized medicine, debuted the CompStor Insight appliance for tertiary analysis in next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications. In benchmark results, CompStor Insight enables a 7x improvement in gene annotation performance allowing researchers to spend more time developing treatment innovations, and less time on data processing.

OmniTier made the announcement coincident with the ASHG 2020 virtual meeting, where it will showcase CompStor Insight and other members of the CompStor genomics analysis product family.

Our researchers are very busy because we need to analyze and interpret complex variants of many patients, said Kazuhiro Nitta, lecturer at Juntendo Universitys Graduate School of Medicine in Tokyo, and part of the Intractable Disease Research Center. He collaborated with OmniTier on CompStor Insight product development. It was an enjoyable experience to work with the innovative team at OmniTier. With the level of automation and sophisticated filtering that is supported by CompStor Insight, we estimate we could reduce the amount of time for downstream analysis of multi-genomic data sets dramatically.

Personalized medicine initiatives have put the spotlight on tertiary analysis as the most complex step in NGS, where scientists seeking better treatments for cancer or rare diseases investigate variants identified during secondary analysis. Competing open source solutions and internally developed applications in use today for tertiary analysis often exhibit low level of functional automation and require long data ingress-compute-egress cycles delay time to actionable data that does not scale with more server nodes.

CompStor Insight is the first tertiary analysis appliance on the market and enables faster time to results, and low per-subject cost. With an easy set up and straightforward Web browser interface, it provides push-button workflows for annotation, filtering, visualization and querying variant data. Utilizing OmniTiers proprietary MemStac tiered memory technology, CompStor Insight can process up to several thousand genome datasets at speed, enabling faster and more accurate interpretation of data in genome-wide-association studies (GWAS) and rare disease analysis. Because CompStor Insight is designed to interface to a wide range of standard and custom knowledge databases including ClinVar and gnomAD, teams have access to a wide set of reference data at their fingertips. Being a stand-alone appliance, CompStor Insight can store subject data locally in on-premise storage, or leverage cloud storage options.

In testing, CompStor Insight delivered a 7x reduction in run time to annotate typical WGS data, compared to Ensembl VEP. For NGS service businesses, where time is money, CompStor accelerates the annotation and filtering functions dramatically, providing an opportunity to grow their revenue and profit easily.

When used with OmniTiers secondary analysis appliance, CompStor Novos, organizations benefit from an end-to-end analytics solution, from sequencer output, advanced variant calling, and fast annotation, to state-of-the-art multisubject tertiary analysis. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies can take advantage of CompStor Insights intuitive GWAS workflows to identify biomarkers for drug development and develop subject selection strategies.

As the cost of gene sequencing decreases, many organizations are looking for faster, easier ways to learn from each patients data, and convert data to knowledge, said Christi Bird, principal consultant and fellow in Frost & Sullivan's Transformational Health Growth consulting team. OmniTier is addressing a key growth market as the bioinformatics industry works to enable the mass adoption of genomic medicine.

Researchers are straining to meet the explosive demand for personalized medicine with analytics that burden them with complexity and delays that impede the ability to turn data into knowledge and then treatments, said Hemant Thapar, CEO and founder of OmniTier. CompStor Insight is enabling the low per subject cost and faster turnaround time to actionable data that is critical to delivering better treatments for hundreds of diseases and genetic conditions.

CompStor Insight appliances will start shipping to pharmaceutical and research organizations in December 2020. For more information or to request pricing please visit http://www.omnitier.com.

About OmniTier Inc.

OmniTier develops AI and multiomics appliances and software for bioinformatics, scientific computing, and web services applications that deliver affordable real-time solutions to enrich everyday living. Its integrated appliance solutions accelerate data-intensive infrastructure applications, including genomic workflows and scientific analysis for machine learning and AI. Founded in February 2015, the company has R&D operations in Milpitas, CA and Rochester, MN.

CompStor Insight is for research purposes only. CompStor, CompStor Insight and MemStac are trademarks of OmniTier, Inc. CompStor Novos is a registered trademark of OmniTier, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201027005319/en/

See original here:
OmniTier Streamlines Personalized Medicine Workflows with CompStor Insight for Next-Generation Sequencing Tertiary Analysis - BioSpace

DUBLIN, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Population Sequencing Market: Focus on Product, Method, Technology, Application, Country, and Competitive Landscape - Analysis and Forecast, 2020-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Growth in this market is expected to be driven by the rising adoption of large-scale sequencing to understand the genomics of susceptibility and resistance from COVID-19, increasing adoption of personalized medicine for the screening and diagnosis of genetic disorders, and a global surge in direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

However, there are significant challenges that are restraining the market growth, such as lack of infrastructure to maintain, store, and share sensitive genomic data, absence of sufficient funding for the development of high-throughput genomic software tools, and poor reducibility and transability of data in clinical practice.

The market is favored by the technological advancements in the sequencing, and computational analysis solutions for a large volume of genetic data enabling a deep understanding of the genetic variants for the development of diagnostics, drug discovery, and translational research.

Furthermore, several sequencing companies are focusing on the development of high-throughput sequence platforms and polymerase chain reaction platforms, with higher sensitivity and low turn-around time to benefit the patients, enabling patient-based outcomes and implementing genomic medicine.

Within the research report, the market is segmented on the basis of product type, application, methods, and technology. Each of these segments covers the snapshot of the market over the projected years, the inclination of the market revenue, underlying patterns, and trends by using analytics on the primary and secondary data obtained.

Competitive Landscape

The exponential rise in the application of precision medicine on the global level has created a buzz among companies to invest in the development of rapid diagnostics providing information on genetic mutation and optimal candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. Due to the diverse product portfolio and intense market penetration, Illumina, Inc. has been a pioneer in this field and has been a significant competitor in this market.

The population sequencing market provided immense growth opportunities for the companies providing technology and infrastructure for large-scale health initiatives, such as Color Genomics, Inc., Helix Opco, LLC, and big data companies such as Genuity Science.

Key Questions Answered in this Report:

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

1 Product Definition1.1 Definition by Product1.1.1 Platforms1.1.2 Kits and Assays1.1.3 Software Tools1.2 Inclusion and Exclusion1.2.1 Inclusion and Exclusion for Country-Wise Market Estimation1.3 Scope of Work1.4 Key Questions Answered in the Report

2 Research Methodology

3 Introduction3.1 Market Overview3.2 Impact of COVID-19 on Population Sequencing3.3 Future Potential

4 Global Population Sequencing Market Dynamics4.1 Overview4.2 Impact Analysis4.3 Market Drivers4.3.1 Rising Adoption of Large-Scale Sequencing to Understand the Genomics of Susceptibility and Resistance from COVID-194.3.2 Increasing Adoption of Personalized Medicine for the Screening and Diagnostics of Genetic Disorders4.3.3 Global Surge in Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Genetic Testing4.4 Market Restraints4.4.1 Lack of Infrastructure to Maintain, Store and Share Sensitive Genomic Data4.4.2 Absence of Sufficient Funding for Development of High-Throughput Genomic Software Tools4.4.3 Poor Reducibility and Translatability of Data in Clinical Practice4.5 Market Opportunity4.5.1 Advancing Precision Medicine with Blockchain-Powered Artificial Intelligence4.5.2 Technological Advancements in Sample Preparation for Population Sequencing4.5.3 Increased Population Engagement and Data Management

5 Competitive Landscape5.1 Key Strategies and Developments5.1.1 Product Approval5.1.2 Product Launches and Upgradations5.1.3 Synergistic Activities5.1.4 Funding and Expansion5.1.5 Acquisitions5.1.6 Other

6 Industry Insights6.1 Overview6.2 Legal Requirements and Framework in the U.S.6.3 Legal Requirements and Framework in Europe6.4 Legal Requirements and Framework in Asia-Pacific6.4.1 Japan6.5 Market Share Analysis (by Company) 20196.5.1 Growth Share Analysis (Opportunity Mapping)6.5.2 By Company

7 Global Population Sequencing Initiatives (by Country)

8 Global Population Sequencing Market (by Product), $Million, 2019-20308.1 Introduction8.2 Kits and Assays8.3 Platforms8.4 Software Tools

9 Global Population Sequencing Market (by Methods), $Million, 2019-20309.1 Introduction9.2 Whole Genome Sequencing9.3 Whole Exome Sequencing9.4 Single-Read Sequencing9.5 Other Sequencing Methods

10 Global Population Sequencing Market (by Technology), $Million, 2019-203010.1 Introduction10.2 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)10.3 Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)10.4 Other Technologies

11 Global Population Sequencing Market (by Application), $Million, 2019-203011.1 Introduction11.2 Human health11.2.1 Clinical Applications11.2.1.1 Diagnostics11.2.1.1.1 Cancer Diagnostics11.2.1.1.2 Infectious Disease Diagnostics11.2.1.1.3 Rare Disease Diagnostics11.2.1.1.4 Other Diagnostics11.2.1.2 Drug Discovery and Development11.2.2 Translational Research Sequencing11.3 Molecular Forensics11.4 Blockchain in Genomics11.4.1 Data Sharing and Monetization11.4.2 Data Storage and Security11.4.3 Automated Health Insurance

12 Global Population Sequencing Market (by Country), $Million, 2019-2030

13 Company Profiles13.1 Company Overview13.2 Role of Agilent Technologies, Inc. in Global Population Sequencing Market13.3 Financials13.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company13.5 SWOT Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/aqpxxy

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [emailprotected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

http://www.researchandmarkets.com

Continue reading here:
Global Population Sequencing Market Report 2020: Market is Projected to Reach $64.04 Billion by 2030 from $21.73 Billion in 2020 - PRNewswire

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Prelude Corporation (PreludeDx), a leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine for early stage breast cancer, presented pivotal data at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2020 National Meeting on the company's present commercially available test, DCISionRT; as well as its new genomic signature presently in development for women with invasive breast cancer (IBC).

ASTRO Poster #2034, entitled Age and Grade as a Function of Decision Score in Women Diagnosed with DCIS, included nearly 1,800 women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and classified as clinicopathologically low-risk by RTOG-like criteria for recurrence of DCIS or progression to IBC.The DCISionRT assay reclassified almost half of these patients to elevated risk, suggesting a group of patients who would be under treated with surgery alone.

Furthermore, the data suggest both patient age and tumor grade failed to sufficiently risk stratify patients.DCISionRT Decision Score (DS) for women under 50 years of age classified 48% of the women to be very low and 52% to be very high biological risk of DCIS recurrence or progression to IBC over 10 years. This differs from the common expectation that the majority of women under 50 are at high risk and should therefore all undergo radiation post-surgery.

Additionally, almost half (48%) of women with low to intermediate tumor grade were reclassified as elevated risk by DCISionRT for DCIS recurrence or progression to IBC, thereby making tumor grade also inadequate as an independent risk indicator.

ASTRO Poster #2041, entitled A Novel Biosignature to Assess Residual Risk in Early Stage Invasive Breast Cancer after Standard Breast Conserving Surgery, provides new data to the company's biosignature that identifies which women diagnosed with stage 1 or 2 invasive breast cancer are most likely to have excellent versus poor outcomes after breast conserving surgery and radiation.

"It is heartening to see such robust data in support of DCISionRT testing to help physicians make treatment decisions for DCIS patients based on their own unique tumor biology instead of relying primarily on clinical features such as age and tumor grade," says Frank A. Vicini, MD, FACR, FASTRO, radiation oncologist at 21st Century Oncology."Additionally, I am excited about the promising data from the new biosignature for invasive breast cancer patients and look forward to the additional clinical benefits this will provide."

"We continue to remain laser focused on helping patients with early stage breast cancer determine the optimal treatment based on each woman's unique biology of her cancer tumor," says Dan Forche, President and CEO of PreludeDx."Today, we help patients and their physicians make the most personalized treatment decision at time of DCIS diagnosis with our commercially available DCISionRT product, and in the future, we look forward to helping patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer do the same with products in our development pipeline."

About DCISionRT for Breast DCIS

DCISionRT is the only risk assessment test for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) that predicts radiation therapy benefit. In the US, over 60,000 women are newly diagnosed with DCIS each year. The test was developed by PreludeDx and built on research that began with funding from the National Cancer Institute to better understand the biology of DCIS. DCISionRT assesses a woman's individual tumor biology along with other risk factors to provide a personalized recurrence risk. The test provides a Decision Scorethat identifies a woman's risk as low or elevated. DCISionRT's intelligent reporting provides a woman's recurrence risk after breast conserving surgery alone and with the addition of radiation therapy. In turn, this new information may help patients and their physicians to make more informed treatment decisions.

About PreludeDx

PreludeDx is a leading personalized breast cancer diagnostics company dedicated to serving breast cancer patients and physicians worldwide. Founded in 2009 with technology licensed from University of California San Francisco, PreludeDx has focused on developing precision breast cancer tools that will impact a patient's treatment decision. Our mission is to provide patients and physicians with innovative technologies that improve patient outcomes and reduce the overall cost burden to the healthcare system. Before making a treatment decision, Know Your Risk.

For more information on how PreludeDx is making a difference for patients, please visit the Company's website: http://www.preludedx.com

PreludeDx, the PreludeDx logo, DCISionRT, the DCISionRT logo, Decision Score, The DCIS Test, Know Your Risk and Your Biology, Your Decision are trademarks of Prelude Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries.

CONTACT: Cory Dunn 888-211-DCIS(3247) [emailprotected]

SOURCE PreludeDx

https://preludedx.com

See the rest here:
DCISionRT by PreludeDx Identifies Breast Cancer Patients Who May Be Undertreated with Surgery Alone - PRNewswire

As healthcare providers have faced unprecedented workloads (individually and institutionally) around the world, the pandemic response continues to cause seismic shifts in how, where, and when care is provided. Longer-term, it has revealed the need for fundamental shifts across the care continuum. As a physician, I have seen first-hand the challenges of not having the right data, at the right time, in the right format to make informed shared decisions with my patients. These challenges amplify the urgency for trusted partners and solutions to help solve emergent health challenges.

Today were taking a big step forward to address these challenges with the general availability of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare brings together trusted capabilities to customers and partners that enhance patient engagement, empower health team collaboration, and improve clinical and operational insights. It makes it faster and easier to provide more efficient care and helps to ensure the end-to-end security, compliance, and interoperability of health data.

That starts with Azure API for FHIR, which enables the rapid exchange of data through Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) APIs, backed by a managed platform as a service (PaaS) offering. It makes it easier for anyone working with health data to ingest, manage, and persist protected health information in the cloud. The healthcare industry is rapidly transforming health data to the emerging standard of FHIR, which enables a robust, extensible data model with standardized semantics and data exchange that enables all systems using FHIR to work together. Transforming your data to FHIR allows you to quickly connect existing data sources such as the electronic health record systems or research databases. FHIR also enables the rapid exchange of data in modern implementations of mobile and web development. Most importantly, FHIR can simplify data ingestion and accelerate development with analytics and Machine Learning tools. The shift from on-premises computing to the cloud in healthcare is one of the five megatrends I spoke about recently and is a one-time event happening in a more compressed period than other industries.

Another key innovation for Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare was born out of a Microsoft Hackathon and launched in 2019, but gained worldwide utilization this year during the pandemic. The Microsoft Health Bot service is an Azure cloud service that empowers healthcare organizations to rapidly build and deploy AI-powered virtual health assistants and chatbots that can be used to enhance their processes, self-service, and cost reduction efforts. The Health Bot comes with built-in healthcare AI services, such as clinical protocols and medical content from trusted industry sources, healthcare templates for rapid design, language understanding models that are tuned to understand medical and clinical terminology, and seamless hand-off to live chat and telehealth when required. The uptake of the Health Bot service has been incredible. Since March 2020, Microsofts Health Bot has triaged over 600 million messages and deployed 2,300 COVID-19 bots in 25 countries, to serve more than 50 million users. At a time when call centers and emergency departments were overwhelmed, this bot service has helped many hospital systems, non-government organizations (NGOs), and public health systems, including the US Center for Disease Control, to communicate up-to-date guidance, prioritize care for their most urgent patients, and receive real-time data on peoples interactions with the bot.

As we continue to expand the capabilities in Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, our teams continue to bring forward innovations. Remote patient monitoring provides the ability to gather patient health data outside of traditional healthcare settings. Healthcare institutions can use Azure IoT Connector for FHIR to bring health data generated by remote devices into Azure API for FHIR. This data could be used to closely track patient health status, monitor patient adherence to treatment plans, and provide personalized care.

Recently released in Open Source, the Medical Imaging Server for DICOM streamlines the process of ingesting medical imaging data in the cloud. By using the Medical Imaging Server for DICOM alongside the Azure API for FHIR or other FHIR services, data references are created between imaging data and clinical data in FHIR, setting the stage for multiple scenarios which are difficult and expensive to execute in todays on-premises systems. As a radiologist, I am excited to see the development of Microsofts imaging server. Imaging data makes up 74 percentof all medical data and on our quest for patient-centered care, this imaging data often provides the clues to connect the dots in disease detection as well as to guide the most effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Text Analytics for Health, a feature of Microsoft Azure Text Analytics, is an AI service currently in preview that enables and simplifies the process of extracting insights from unstructured medical data. Trained on a diverse range of medical datacovering various formats of clinical notes, clinical trial protocols, and morethis health feature is capable of processing a broad range of data types and tasks, without the need for time-intensive, manual development of custom models. Much of todays healthcare data is in the form of unstructured text, such as doctors notes, medical publications, electronic health records, clinical trial protocols, medical encounter transcripts, and more. Healthcare organizations, providers, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and others face an incredible challenge in trying to identify and draw insights from all that information. Unlocking insights from this data has massive potential for improving healthcare services and patient outcomes.

Future enhancements of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare will include solutions for precision medicine. Decoding the information in an individuals genome has led to a greater understanding of the variability in disease progression and treatment response across individuals.Gaining a better understanding of these genetic variations at an individual and population level is key to development of precision medicine strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.Microsoft Genomicsopen source solutions (Cromwell on Azure, Genomics Notebooks) enable biomedical researchers to orchestrate scalable workflows and efficiently manage genomics pipelines and analytics using the power of the Azure cloud. Our goal is to make genomics data actionable by analyzing and interpreting data generated by modern genomics technologies.

Unlocking the power of health data with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and its expanding pipeline of enhancements allow care givers to gain a holistic view of the patient with insights and actionable next steps for more informed, personalized care management.

With todays launch, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare lays the foundation for our customers and partners to build innovative solutions, leading to better experiences and outcomes for both patients and their providers. Collaborating with our partners to bring these innovations to life is the work that keeps me energized as we reimagine the future of health globally.

Read more:
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare: Unlocking the power of health data for better care - Microsoft

By Maggie Ireland, for The Gazette

October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month shines a spotlight on the battle against breast cancer and the developments in diagnosing and treating the disease that inspire hope for the future.

Breast cancer remains very common. Its still the most common cancer in women, said Dr. Ingrid Lizarraga, a clinical associate professor of surgery and breast surgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

But it is no longer the most common cause of death for women it is now the second most common cause of cancer death for women after lung cancer. We know a lot

more about breast cancer than we ever did before. The vast majority of women who have breast cancer will do great.

Admittedly, a breast cancer prognosis largely depends on the type of breast cancer you have and the stage at which it is diagnosed. The good news is that the prognosis has improved considerably over the years.

Mortality rates are decreasing, thanks to improved screenings and improved treatment, said Dr. Rasa Buntinas, an oncologist at PCI in Cedar Rapids. At our cancer center, 80 percent of women are diagnosed at an early stage stage 0 or stage 1 and that means a better chance of survival.

More screening options have become available in recent years.

Mammograms are still what we recommend, Lizarraga said. 3-D mammograms have been around for about five years and can be really helpful for women with dense

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

breasts. The recognition that breast density affects how you screen is important. Whole breast ultrasounds can also be useful.

For women with abnormal findings, a breast MRI is an option.

Discussing your personal risk factors with your doctor is the best way to determine what screenings are best for you.

The latest developments in genetic testing can further pinpoint specific risk factors.

Weve identified a set of genes that puts you at high risk for developing breast cancer, and we can test for this gene, Lizarraga said. The trick is to find those at risk who need the genetic testing. If you have concerns, talk to your doctor so they can assess your risk and give you better guidance on a screening regimen.

Today, the widely accepted recommendation is for most women to begin getting an annual mammogram at age 40.

If you have any risk factors at all, start at 40. But the latest you should start is at age 45. And you should screen every year, Lizarraga said. When youre younger, the odds are lower, but the stakes are higher.

In the past, all women were encouraged to do a monthly self-exam, but thats no longer the case.

Self-exams are no longer recommended, Buntinas said. They tended to lead to more testing and biopsies but really didnt improve outcomes. The recommendation now

is breast self-awareness. Be aware of how your breasts look and feel, and report changes to your doctor.

Lizarraga agrees that a woman should trust her instincts if she senses something is wrong.

You know your body better than anyone else, she said. It doesnt just have to be a lump it could be a different appearance of the skin or the nipple. Pay attention to how you feel and how you look, and advocate for yourself if you notice something.

Many developments have been made in treating breast cancer, particularly metastatic breast cancer, Buntinas said.

Were really getting a much better understanding of tumor biology, she said. Specific targets are being identified to better improve treatments and provide more of a personalized medicine approach. In practice, these treatments are really improving survival.

Its an exciting time in the treatment of breast cancer, Lizarraga said, because things pretty much change every day.

If a woman needs a mastectomy, we can give you a result that looks much closer to what your native breast looks like, she said. The attitude used to be that you shouldnt worry about how it looks, because you should be grateful you dont have cancer, but thats not accepted anymore.

Advancements also are being made in addressing the side effects of treatment, like lymphedema, the swelling of a womans arm or hand that can follow the removal of lymph nodes.

Weve gotten better at figuring out more effective techniques that result in less lymphedema, Lizarraga said. Were also now better able to save a womans breasts if she prefers to do that.

The biggest advances in treatment, however, have been in systemic therapies, or the use of drugs to reach cancer cells anywhere in the body, she said.

Almost all women with breast cancer will get some form of systemic treatment pills or therapy.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Weve become increasingly targeted with treatment, Lizarraga said. We start by figuring out which type of breast cancer you have. We now have genomic tests, so we can test the DNA of the tumor itself to see how likely it is to recur. That actually allows us to figure out whether a woman will benefit from chemotherapy or not.

Thats huge because we can limit the toxic treatment when its not going to be beneficial.

Treatment is more targeted than ever.

We match severity of treatment to the severity of disease, Lizarraga said. Weve figured out how to make things more personal in a lot of cases, weve changed the timing of treatment. In the past, you often came in, had surgery and then began the next form of treatment, like chemotherapy or pills.

Now, we often provide treatment before surgery and then personalize what is needed next.

Lizarraga said women of all ages need to know breast cancer is common but treatable, as long as its caught early.

If you do have a family history, be sure to get evaluated to see if genetic testing is appropriate, she said.

And know that who treats you is important, too.

Get a second opinion make sure the person youre seeing is someone who knows specifically about breast cancer treatment and the latest developments. Advocate for

yourself.

Both doctors agree the prognosis for breast cancer patients is brighter than ever.

The outlook is very positive and hopeful for the future, Buntinas said.

View original post here:
The good news about breast cancer - The Gazette

Oct. 28, 2020 11:00 UTC

OXFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oxford Biodynamics Plc (AIM: OBD), a biotechnology company developing personalized medicine tests based on 3D genomic biomarkers, has signed a Human Material and Data Transfer Agreement with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) as part of its EpiSwitch COVID-19 disease severity test program.

Some people infected with COVID-19 become severely ill and hospitalized, while many only experience mild illness. Under the terms of the agreement, samples from OHSU will be used to further the development of the Companys COVID-19 severity test, aimed at forecasting individuals risks of severe disease progression in advance, to inform risk mitigation decisions and help optimize acute and long-term treatment.

Ranked among the best hospitals in the US,1 OHSU has been operating right at the frontline throughout the pandemic. Since 28 February, with the first US COVID-19 hotspot on its doorstep, OHSU has seen 3,950 patient cases, as of 26 October.2 Clinicians have encountered and treated patients experiencing a wide range of responses, from asymptomatic through to severe cases who were admitted to intensive care or succumbed.

OHSU is the first US Academic Medical Centre to join Oxford BioDynamics disease severity program on a non-commercial basis as part of the COVID-19 Technology Access Framework initiative it is involved with.3 OHSU is providing clinical research samples from patients with the full spectrum of manifestations of COVID-19, together with in-depth expert description and annotation. These add to Oxford BioDynamics growing bank of 500+ samples from cohorts across the world. The Company is developing the worlds first 3D genomic test to determine likelihood of disease severity (prognostic).

Dr Jon Burrows, CEO of Oxford BioDynamics commented: We are gratified that our disease severity program has attracted the attention and support of a prestigious institution like OHSU. The well-annotated samples provided by this world-class facility will deepen our understanding of patient response and enhance development of our test. We are continuing to grow our network of leading international institutions interested in analysing how the 3D genome informs COVID-19 response.

Oxford BioDynamics is developing the disease severity test based on its proprietary EpiSwitch technology which has been reduced to practice.4 EpiSwitch will be used to retrospectively analyse the OHSU samples, comparing the 3D genomes of the patients to how they responded to the virus. The 3D structure of a patients genome contains important molecular regulatory information, about what makes certain patients particularly vulnerable to hyperinflammation and severe side effects, when exposed to COVID-19 infection. Oxford BioDynamics is establishing a panel of biomarkers to forecast the expected severity when infected with COVID-19. This will help to assess an individuals level of risk and assist in patient prognoses. Having this information could significantly help patient triage and treatment, ease the burden on healthcare systems and human resources.

Bill Messer, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, OHSU added: With the second wave of COVID-19 sweeping the globe, it is clear that we have a way to go in the fight against this virus. In April, we joined the COVID-19 Technology Access Framework, which aims to expedite the development of promising technologies to diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19. Oxford BioDynamics shares the same mission, and their technology and its prognostic capabilities hold potential in helping both patients and the health care system. We are glad to contribute our samples and knowledge to help advance development of the Companys COVID-19 disease severity test.

References:

1. https://www.ohsu.edu/health/ohsu-health-care-awards-and-recognition 2. https://news.ohsu.edu/2020/10/19/preparing-for-the-novel-coronavirus-at-ohsu 3. https://news.ohsu.edu/2020/04/16/ohsu-expedites-promising-new-technologies-to-tackle-covid-19 4. https://www.oxfordbiodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SITC2019_P142_avelumab.pdf

- ENDS -

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Oxford BioDynamics Plc

Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) ("Oxford BioDynamics") is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of 3D genomic biomarkers for use within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

The Company's award-winning, proprietary technology platform, EpiSwitch, aims to accelerate the drug discovery and development process, improve the success rate of therapeutic product development and take advantage of the increasing importance of personalised medicine.

In particular, EpiSwitch can reduce time to market, failure rates and the costs at every stage of drug discovery. Additionally, the technology provides significant insights into disease mechanisms for drug discovery and product re-positioning programs, enabling the personalization of therapeutics for patients in the context of challenging pricing environments where improved clinical outcomes are critical.

In April 2019, Oxford BioDynamics received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation. The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses.

The Company is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM under the ticker "OBD". For more information please visit our website, http://www.oxfordbiodynamics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201028005110/en/

View post:
Oxford BioDynamics Advances EpiSwitch Disease Severity Program for COVID-19 with Top US Academic Health Center, Oregon Health & Science University...

IRVING, Texas, Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, announced today that it has raised $310 million in growth capital.

The financing includes $235 million in equity financing co-led by Highland Capital Management and Coatue, with participation from funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., OrbiMed, Millennium Management, Neuberger Berman, ClearBridge Investments, First Light Asset Management and other undisclosed investors.

The Company also raised $75 million in debt from Sixth Street as an extension to the $150 million in structured debt financing Sixth Street invested in September 2018. Sixth Street also participated in the equity round. Following the conclusion of this financing, Vijay Mohan, Co-founding Partner at Sixth Street, has been appointed to the board of directors.

Caris will dedicate the new capital to fund its continued growth in precision medicine to reinvent cancer care, accelerate innovative product development and pursue new initiatives in both the clinical trial and biopharmaceutical markets.

"Caris puts the patient at the center of everything we do, and focuses on fulfilling the promise of improving patient outcomes across all cancer types worldwide. As tumor profiling becomes standard practice, it's important that we continue to grow rapidly as we maintain our leadership position," said David D. Halbert, Chairman and CEO of Caris Life Sciences. "We continue to advance our market-leading tumor profiling platform, clinical trial delivery service, grow our clinical and R&D laboratory facilities, expand our biopharmaceutical partnerships and further expand our investments in AI-powered innovation with our Precision Oncology Alliance collaborators. We are thrilled that our new partners share our vision to be the industry-leader in the precision medicine space."

"This financing represents the first significant external equity investment in Caris. We are tremendously proud to partner with a diverse and high-quality syndicate of leading investors with deep domain knowledge in healthcare and technology," said Brian J. Brille, Vice Chairman of Caris Life Sciences.

"We've reached an inflection point in the ability to use precision medicine to guide treatment decisions for cancer patients. Caris has built the leading clinically-focused comprehensive tumor profiling platform, providing the broadest coverage of actionable biomarkers, unparalleled physician support, and proprietary molecular signature analytics that will continue to enhance the utility of its testing platform for clinicians," said Nate Burns, Portfolio Manager and Head of Healthcare at Highland Capital Management. "The Company is also leveraging its unique multi-omics capabilities and extensive patient outcomes database to pursue compelling new pipeline opportunities including high-sensitivity liquid biopsy diagnostics and novel drug-target identification partnerships. We look forward to working with Caris and are excited about the tremendous growth opportunity ahead."

"By growing its platform, increasing its research and testing capacity, and strengthening its client partnerships, Caris has steadily advanced its position as the leading tumor profiling company," said Vijay Mohan, Co-founding Partner at Sixth Street. "We are proud to continue to support Mr. Halbert, Mr. Brille and the entire Caris team on their mission to help physicians and cancer patients make more personalized and precise treatment decisions. We look forward to our board engagement as Caris keeps leading as an innovator in precision medicine."

About Caris Life SciencesCaris Life Sciences is a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. The company's suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps physicians and cancer patients make more precise and personalized treatment decisions. MI Exome whole exome sequencing with 22,000 DNA genes, and MI Transcriptome whole transcriptome sequencing with 22,000 RNA genes along with cancer-related pathogens, bacteria, viruses and fungi analysis run on every patient provides the most comprehensive and clinically relevant DNA and RNA profiling available on the market.

Caris is also advancing precision medicine with Caris MAI (Molecular Artificial Intelligence) that combines its innovative service offerings, Caris Molecular Intelligence with its proprietary artificial intelligence analytics engine, DEAN, to analyze the whole exome, whole transcriptome and complete cancer proteome. This information, coupled with mature clinical outcomes on thousands of patients, provides unmatched molecular solutions for patients, physicians, payers and biopharmaceutical organizations.

Caris Pharmatech is changing the paradigm and streamlines the clinical trial process by assisting biopharma companies with accessing research-ready oncology sites for clinical trials. With over 200 research sites within the Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time (JIT) Oncology Network, biopharma companies can identify and enroll more patients, faster. Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time Clinical Trial Solutions focus on rapid site activation and patient enrollment to streamline the drug development process. By implementing Caris' Just-In-Time Trial-Matching System, Caris will automatically match patients to clinical trials and sites can be activated and eligible to enroll patients within one week.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences has offices in Phoenix, Denver, New York, and Basel, Switzerland. Caris provides services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit http://www.CarisLifeSciences.com or follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

About Highland Capital ManagementHighland Capital Management ("Highland") is a multibillion-dollar global alternative investment platform. Established in 1993 with a focus on the leveraged loan market, Highland has evolved over its more than 25-year history, building on its credit expertise and value-based approach to expand into other asset classes. Today, in addition to high-yield credit, Highland's investment capabilities include real estate, private equity and special situations, public equities, structured credit, and sector- and region-specific verticals built around specialized teams. The platform serves both institutional and retail investors worldwide, offering access to alternatives in a range of investment vehicles and fund structures. Highland operates globally, with offices in Dallas, Texas (headquarters), Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, and Seoul. For more information visit http://www.highlandcapital.com.

About CoatueCoatue is one of the largest technology investment platforms in the world with approximately $20 billion in assets under management. Our dedicated team of engineers and data scientists work closely with investment professionals to add value to founders and executive teams in our portfolio. With venture, growth and public funds, we back entrepreneurs from around the globe and at every stage of growth. Some of our private investments have included Airtable, Ant Financial, Anaplan, ByteDance, Chime, Databricks, DoorDash, Instacart, Meituan, Snap and Spotify.

About Sixth StreetSixth Street is a global investment firm with approximately $47 billion in assets under management and committed capital. Sixth Street operates eight diversified, collaborative investment platforms across our growth investing, adjacencies, direct lending, fundamental public strategies, infrastructure, special situations, agriculture and par liquid credit businesses. Our long-term oriented, highly flexible capital base and "One Team" cultural philosophy allow us to invest thematically across sectors, geographies and asset classes. Founded in 2009, Sixth Street has more than 275 team members including over 140 investment professionals operating from nine locations around the world. For more information, visit http://www.sixthstreet.com.

Media and Investor Relations Contact:Argot Partnerscaris@argotpartners.com212-600-1902

Corporate Development Contact:Narendra ChokshiCaris Life Sciencesnchokshi@carisls.com917-689-3511

General Media Contact:Lindsey BailysGCI Healthlindsey.bailys@gcihealth.com212-798-9884

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/caris-life-sciences-raises-310-million-in-growth-capital-from-a-broad-syndicate-of-leading-investors-301160234.html

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences

Read more here:
Caris Life Sciences Raises $310 Million in Growth Capital from a Broad Syndicate of Leading Investors - BioSpace

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Translational Drug Development (TD2), a precision oncology contract research organization (CRO), and VieCure have announced a strategic partnership that will provide patients receiving care in community oncology practices with best-in-class precision oncology treatments while enhancing patient awareness of tailored treatment and clinical studies that are most likely to benefit them.

A paradigm shift has occurred in favor of precision oncology, in which the molecular profile of a patients tumor is guiding treatment related decision-making. There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of approved novel immunotherapy and targeted agents across different indications over the past five years. The combination of TD2 and VieCure will allow a greater number of oncologists to embrace the latest clinical guidance, increase access to trials, have ease of access to next generation tumor sequencing, and facilitate enhanced access to the right care, for the right patient, at the right time.

We believe community oncology practices are critical to the success for new oncology medicines and this partnership increases the likelihood of clinical benefit for patients and overall success of clinical trials," said Stephen Gately, President and CEO at TD2. VieCures platform puts critical patient data like genomics, and proteomics at oncologists fingertips as they meet with their patients so that they are immediately aware of potential precision oncology trials that their patient is eligible for.

Access to de-identified real-time patient data will enhance TD2s ability to identify the right patients with much greater fidelity and speed, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for cancer patients.

The VieCure Platform is the ideal vehicle to help drive precision oncology adoption in community-based practice, said Dr. Fred Ashbury, Chief Scientific Officer at VieCure, Our Artificial Intelligence engine supports clinicians by presenting options that may have otherwise gone unnoticed, further emphasizing the need for clinical decision support tools at the point of care to help manage the precision oncology revolution.

Participating community oncology practices will have access to industry-sponsored clinical trials codified into the VieCure platform. This will improve trial design and speed up the opening of precision oncology clinical trials and the real time collection of data in the community oncology setting. This relationship will result in a greater number of patients having access to new and novel therapies.

About TD2

TD2, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, focuses on oncology medicine development with unparalleled experience conducting translational studies from bench-to-bedside against all tumor times and hematology indications. TD2 provides end-to-end solutions, including translational preclinical services; regulatory strategic guidance, planning and document submission service; and clinical trail design and execution for innovative oncology-focused companies. TD2 has provided its services to more than 600 biotech and pharma companies, maintaining hundreds of studies per year. Among them, the team has been involved in more than 600 first-in-man major oncology medicines, including numerous trials that have led to approvals in both rare and large indications.

About VieCure

VieCure has developed a proprietary artificial intelligence informatics software platform in conjunction with a clinical inference engine and smart electronic medical record in oncology. The VieCure platform is a real-time decision support system that combines clinical knowledge with patient data to assist oncologists and hematologists in generating personalized treatment plans and managing a patients treatment throughout diagnosis, cancer therapy, and ongoing follow-up care. For more information, please visit http://www.viecure.com and connect with VieCure on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit link:
TD2 and VieCure Partner to Bring Best-in-Class Cancer Medicines and Access to Precision Oncology Clinical Trials to Patients in Community Oncology...

Global Healthcare Biomarkers Market Report Covers Market Dynamics, Market Value Chain, And Future Prospective

Healthcare Biomarkers marketis experiencing a growth that the global industry has never-ever seen before. The considerable growth and development are basically due to the current increasing demand and supply on the global platform. The current market dossier provides the necessary details such as the monetary fluctuations, industrial trade, future scopes, and global market status in a smooth-tongued pattern.

The Healthcare Biomarkers market report has some of the major players Johnson & Johnson, Qiagen N.V., GE Healthcare, Agilent Technologies, Roche Diagnostics, Merck, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Abbott Laboratories, Epigenomics AG, Siemens Healthcare GmbH leading the current global market mentioned. The research report has all the vital details about the past, present, and future aspects of the Healthcare Biomarkers market mentioned with great transparency.

Click here for the free sample copy of the Healthcare Biomarkers Market report

An Overview About the Table of Contents:

Global Healthcare Biomarkers Market Overview Target Audience for the Healthcare Biomarkers Market Economic Impact on the Healthcare Biomarkers Market Global Healthcare Biomarkers Market Forecast Business Competition by Manufacturers Production, Revenue (Value) by Region Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type Market Analysis by Application Cost Analysis Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy, and Downstream Buyers Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders Market Effect Factors Analysis

In the global market, there is always a tough competition going on between the various players so as to top the chart. The current Healthcare Biomarkers market seems to have succeeded in sowing its seed of success and is enjoying the benefits of the reaping taking place on a global platform. The most important aspect provided in the report is the variation in the financial scale that can give the clients a complete idea about the current monetary gain and loss. The geographical segmentation North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) gives the readers an entire data about the growth and development taking place across the world. The informative report also presents some data based on the market bifurcations, growth factors, futuristic aspects, industrial policies, and product supply and demand for a better piece of understanding.

Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at::https://www.marketdataanalytics.biz/global-healthcare-biomarkers-market-report-2020-by-key-players-72994.html

Key Insights encompassed in the Healthcare Biomarkers market report

Latest technological advancement in the Healthcare Biomarkers market Studying pricing analysis and market strategies trailed by the market players to enhance global Healthcare Biomarkers market growth Regional development status off the Healthcare Biomarkers market and the impact of COVID-19 in different regions Detailing of the supply-demand chain, market valuation, drivers, and more

One of the vital data mentioned in the report includes that of the overall market segmentation based on the product type, applications, end-users, and various other subtypes. The market segmentation {Safety biomarker, Validation biomarker, Efficacy biomarker}; {Diagnostics development, Personalized medicine, Drug discovery & development, Disease risk assessment, Other} helps the clients and other readers obtain a crystal-clear context about the Healthcare Biomarkers market. The knowledgeable aspects mentioned in the current scientific report is made available at the tip of the finger with just a click.

Questions answered by the Healthcare Biomarkers market report:

Which are regions witnessing the highest growth during the forecast period? How the surging prices of raw materials will affect the growth of the Healthcare Biomarkers market? Which are major market players? How are the market players intensifying their global presence? If yes, how? What are the key strategies used by the market players to improve their market position post the COVID-19 pandemic?

Enquire Here Get customization & check discount for report@https://www.marketdataanalytics.biz/global-healthcare-biomarkers-market-report-2020-by-key-players-72994.html#inquiry-for-buying

Why Choose Market Data Analytics reports?

Our analysts use latest market research techniques to create the report Market reports are curated using the latest market research and analytical tools Customization of report is possible as per the requirement Our team comprises of expertise and highly trained analysts Quick responsive customer support for domestic and international clients

Read more:
Global Healthcare Biomarkers Market 2020 COVID-19 Updated Analysis By Product (Safety biomarker, Validation biomarker, Efficacy biomarker); By...

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The research antibodies and reagents market is projected to reach USD 14.1 billion by 2025 from USD 10.1 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period. The research antibodies and reagents market has evolved owing to factors such as growth in proteomics and genomics research, rising demand for high-quality antibodies for research reproducibility, and increasing R&D activity and expenditure in the life sciences industry. Fueled by the growing demand for personalized medicine and structure-based drug design, the global research antibodies and reagents market is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05979661/?utm_source=PRN

Based on product, the reagents segment holds the highest market share during the forecast period.Based on product, the research antibodies and reagents market are segmented into reagent and antibodies.The reagent segment accounted for the larger market share in 2019.

The reagents market is experiencing notable growth due to the growing applications of biosciences and biotechnology within the pharmaceutical and healthcare fields.

Based on technology, the flow cytometry segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Based technology, the research antibodies and reagents market is segmented into western blotting, flow cytometry, ELISA, Immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence, Immunoprecipitation, and other technologies.The flow cytometry segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period.

This is mainly due to this technique is its ability to perform simultaneous multi-parameter analysis on single cells within a heterogeneous mixture.It offers high throughput and the automated quantification of cell features.

These factors, along with technological innovations in flow cytometry and growing cancer research, are driving the growth of this segment. By application , the proteomics holds the highest market share during the forecast period.

Based on application, the research antibodies and reagents market is segmented into proteomics, drug development and Genomics. Proteomics held the largest share of the global research antibodies and reagents market in 2019.The growth of the segment is due to as it efficiently maps drug-protein and protein-protein interactions. Moreover, proteomic technologies have minimized the cost, time, and resource requirements for chemical synthesis and biological testing of drugs. Proteomic technologies, such as electrophoresis, ELISA, microarrays, and MS-based proteomics, are highly efficient for analytical laboratory testing.

By enduser , the pharmaceutical & biotechnology holds the highest market share during the forecast period.The research antibodies and reagents market is segmented into the pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, academic & research institutions and Contract Research Organizations.The pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies held the largest share of the global research antibodies and reagents end-user market in 2019.

The large share of this segment is attributed to the wide use of research antibodies in drug development for the identification and quantification of biomarkers and various analytical procedures. By Region, The Asia Pacific region is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific research antibodies and reagents market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2020 to 2025.The growth of this market is primarily due to growing proteomics and genomics research and increasing research funding, investments by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and growing awareness of personalized therapeutics in the region. Also high-growth countries, such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and Singapore are the major contributors to the Asia Pacific research antibodies and reagents market. This region is expected to grow at the highest pace during the forecast period primarily due to growing proteomics and genomics research and increasing research funding, increasing investments by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and growing awareness about personalized therapeutics.

Break of primary participants was as mentioned below: By Company Type Tier 135%, Tier 245% and Tier 320% By Designation C-level35%, Director-level25%, Others40% By Region North America45%, Europe30%, Asia Pacific20%, Latin America- 3%, Middle East and Africa2%

Key players in the research antibodies and reagents marketThe key players operating in the researsch antibodies and reagents systems include Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), Merck Group (Germany), Abcam plc (UK), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories (US), Cell Signaling Technology (US), F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Switzerland), Danaher Corporation (US), Agilent Technologies (US), PerkinElmer (US), Lonza (Switzerland), GenScript (China), and BioLegend (US).

Research Coverage:The report analyzes the research antibodies and reagent market and aims at estimating the market size and future growth potential of this market based on various segments such as product, distribution channel, and region.The report also includes a product portfolio matrix of various research antibodies and reagents products available in the market.

The report also provides a competitive analysis of the key players in this market, along with their company profiles, product offerings, and key market strategies.

Reasons to Buy the ReportThe report will enrich established firms as well as new entrants/smaller firms to gauge the pulse of the market, which in turn would help them, garner a more significant share of the market. Firms purchasing the report could use one or any combination of the below-mentioned strategies to strengthen their position in the market.

This report provides insights into the following pointers: Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on product portfolios offered by the top players in the global research antibodies and reagent market. The report analyzes this market by product and distribution channel. Product Enhancement/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming trends and product launches in the global research antibodies and reagent market. Market Development: Comprehensive information on the lucrative emerging markets by product and distribution channel Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products or product enhancements, growing geographies, recent developments, and investments in the global research antibodies and reagent market. Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, product offerings, competitive leadership mapping, and capabilities of leading players in the global research antibodies and reagent market.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05979661/?utm_source=PRN

About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

__________________________ Contact Clare: [emailprotected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

http://www.reportlinker.com

Read this article:
The Asia Pacific research antibodies and reagents market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2020 to 2025 - PRNewswire

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medidata, a Dassault Systmes company, the global leader in creating end-to-end solutions that support the entire clinical trial process, will convene stakeholders in drug and device development, clinical operations, data management, biostatistics and digital medicine innovation industries for NEXT Global on October 27-29, 2020.

With a focus on improving clinical trials through advanced technology and enhancing the patient experience, the three-day, all virtual event will bring together experts to discuss topics critical to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical device and diagnostics companies, and contract research organizations (CROs) running clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the life sciences industry and is acting as a catalyst for dramatic change, said Tarek Sherif, co-founder and co-CEO of Medidata. Digital transformation of life sciences is happening at an accelerated pace, from research to clinical trials, manufacturing and through to commercialization. Nowhere is this more apparent than in clinical studies, where the use of advanced analytics is powering faster, safer and more effective treatments. Medidatas platform is at the forefront of enabling clinical development to improve the patient experience and patient outcomes.

To see and hear how Medidatas industry-leading Rave platform and its innovative patient-centric approach is at the core of digitally transforming clinical trials, attendees will participate in sessions with the following themes:

Presentations from Medidata experts, customers, partners and industry experts will focus on the next phase of digital transformation in clinical trials and drug development through:

The right unified technology can embrace the waves of change and increase precision in medical therapies and treatments, said Glen de Vries, co-CEO of Medidata. NEXT Global will showcase technology solutions that accelerate clinical development, powering smarter treatments and healthier people.

Medidata is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systmes, which with its 3DEXPERIENCE platform is positioned to lead the digital transformation of life sciences in the age of personalized medicine with the first end-to-end scientific and business platform, from research to commercialization.

About Medidata

Medidata is leading the digital transformation of life sciences, creating hope for millions of patients. Medidata helps generate the evidence and insights to help pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and diagnostics companies, and academic researchers accelerate value, minimize risk, and optimize outcomes. More than one million registered users across 1,600+ customers and partners access the world's most-used platform for clinical development, commercial, and real-world data. Medidata, a Dassault Systmes company (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), is headquartered in New York City and has offices around the world to meet the needs of its customers. Discover more at http://www.medidata.com and follow us @Medidata, The Operating System for Life SciencesTM.

Medidata and Medidata Rave are registered trademarks of Medidata Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systmes.

About Dassault Systmes

Dassault Systmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, is a catalyst for human progress. We provide business and people with collaborative 3D virtual environments to imagine sustainable innovations. By creating virtual experience twins of the real world with our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and applications, our customers push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production. Dassault Systmes brings value to more than 270,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com.

3DEXPERIENCE, the Compass icon, the 3DS logo, CATIA, BIOVIA, GEOVIA, SOLIDWORKS, 3DVIA, ENOVIA, EXALEAD, NETVIBES, MEDIDATA, CENTRIC PLM, 3DEXCITE, SIMULIA, DELMIA, and IFWE are commercial trademarks or registered trademarks of Dassault Systmes, a French socit europenne (Versailles Commercial Register # B 322 306 440), or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

Read more here:
Medidata NEXT Global 2020 to Focus on the Virtualization of Clinical Trials, the Power of Analytics and Improving the Patient Experience in the...

Oct. 26, 2020 16:00 UTC

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In a step toward the full realization of genomic medicine, Fabric Genomics (Formerly Known As Omicia, Inc.), a leader in AI-based genomic analysis and interpretation, has announced a co-marketing agreement that will provide translational researchers around the world with integrated sample prep to reporting workflows. Combining Roches newly released KAPA HyperExome Probes (RUO) with the Fabric Enterprise bioinformatics and analysis platform will make genetic research faster, less costly and more accurate by providing an end-to-end solution from sample prep through analysis.

Fabric Genomics pioneered AI-driven genomic interpretation, and its Fabric Enterprise software platform for genomic data analysis and reporting is in use by clinical research laboratories, healthcare institutions and country sequencing programs around the world, including Rady Childrens Institute for Genomic Medicine, LabCorp and Genomics England. Last week Fabric Genomics released Fabric GEM, a novel algorithm that quickly identifies the likely genetic cause of rare diseases; the new technology is fully integrated within the Fabric Enterprise platform.

Roches exome sequencing workflow includes the KAPA HyperPrep and HyperPlus library preparation kits and exome probes, which allow users to quickly prepare samples for sequencing while delivering high on-target rates and 98% sensitivity for SNP detection.

In addition to improving turnaround times for genomic sequencing, the combination of these technologies will allow laboratories to increase automation and lower operational costs with improved scalability. Clinical research labs that are expanding assay menus will benefit from reduced costs of development and faster validation.

Clinical research labs have a need to take a collected sample from library prep quickly, all the way through to analysis, and our agreement with Roche demonstrates our commitment to supporting these critical workflows, said Martin Reese, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Fabric Genomics. Using our Fabric Enterprise analysis platform with Roche KAPA HyperExome Probes ensures high coverage of disease-causing genes, which is of the utmost importance in accelerating the identification of rare variants. Combining these technologies into a single workflow will lead to higher quality results and increased reliability of sequencing-based diagnostics in routine care. With widespread adoption of sequencing technology innovation, we can further our shared goal of improving personalized care.

KAPA products are for research use only (RUO). Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

About Fabric Genomics

Headquartered in Oakland, California, Fabric Genomics was founded by industry veterans and innovators with a deep understanding of bioinformatics, large-scale genomics and clinical diagnostics. Fabric Genomics is making genomics-driven precision medicine a reality. The company also provides clinical decision-support software that enables clinical labs, hospital systems and country sequencing programs to gain actionable genomic insights, resulting in faster and more accurate diagnoses and reduced turnaround time. Fabrics end-to-end genomic analysis platform incorporates proven AI algorithms, and has applications in both hereditary disease and oncology.

To learn more, visit https://fabricgenomics.com/roche/ and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201026005324/en/

See original here:
Fabric Genomics to Co-market Comprehensive Sample-to-Genomic Analysis Sequencing Solutions for Hereditary Genetics - BioSpace

Mid-cap stocks are oftenunfairlyoverlooked. In a coronavirus-stricken economy where giant tech companies keep powering the market higher as small companies struggle to survive, mid-caps are an excellent compromise. They generally have lower valuations than the most beloved blue chips and stronger businesses than the small fries.

In fund tracker Morningstars Mid-Cap Blend category, the $552 million Madison Mid Cap fund (ticker: GTSGX) is one of the best. The no-load fund has beaten 95% of its category peers in the past three years and 85% of them in the past 15. Equally important, it is less volatile than its Russell Midcap benchmark, while matching the indexs 11.8% average annual return in the past 10 years. (Although officially this Y-share class of the fund has a $25,000 minimum investment, brokers such as Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and E*Trade allow clients to get into the fund with an investment of $2,500 or less.)It has an expense ratio of 0.95%.

Manager Rich Eisinger, 55, has been at the helm since 1998, but he also relies on Haruki Toyama, co-manager since 2015, and Andy Romanowich, co-manager since 2019. Eisingers connection with Toyama, 49, goes way back. They first met at an investment club in the 1990s at Cornell Universitys business school, and both were Warren Buffett fans. We showed up at a room for new club members, and this fellow student got up, and started talking about options this and options that, and Rich and I kind of looked at each other and were like, Whats this guy talking about? We just want to buy great companies at a cheap price, Toyama recalls. They have been friends since then, swapping investment ideas, going on research trips together, and sharing investment philosophies.

Eisingers investment style, like Buffetts, has evolved from a more traditional value approachseeking cheap stocksto trying to invest in great businesses with strong durable cash flows. Over time, weve realized, especially in the mid-cap space, the value of paying up for a great business and watching that free cash flow compound over many years, Eisinger says. Madison Mid Cap tends to hold stocks for the long termthe funds turnover ratio is 25%, indicating a typical holding period of four years. Forty percent of our portfolio weve owned for over a decade, Toyama says.

The fund is also concentratedanother Buffett hallmarkhaving just 29 stocks as of Sept. 30. Concentration increases individual stock risk, as any blowups in a 5% position hurt returns more than a 1% one, for instance. But the funds volatility is low, despite its small number of stocks, reflecting the high quality of its holdings and the rarity of individual company blowups.

To make it into the portfolio, a company should have a strong business model with an economic moat that prevents competitors from reducing profits. It must also have a superior management team with preferably strong insider ownership, conservative accounting and earnings projections, and a history of wise capital-allocation decisions regarding share buybacks, acquisitions, and debt repayment. Finally, the valuation must be reasonable for a strong business.

Note: Holdings as of Sept. 30. Returns through Oct. 26; all returns are annualized.

Sources: Madison Funds; Morningstar

Health-care diagnostics company Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (LH), commonly known as LabCorp, exemplifies the funds buy-and-hold strategy. Were in the 17th year now of ownership, Eisinger says. LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) are the two largest clinical diagnostics labs in the country, controlling 25% of the independent lab business, he says. Eisinger sees a long runway for earnings growth between 10% to 11% a year because LabCorp is the low-cost provider of diagnostic tests relative to hospital labs. Theres more emphasis on [health-care] cost containment than theres ever been, so [LabCorp] is going to start gaining more market share in the next decade.

Moreover, in 2015 LabCorp acquired drug developer Covance, which specializes in personalized medicine, such as targeted gene therapies. Covance can utilize LabCorps huge database of patients to get candidates for their drug trials and their drug development, Eisinger says. That patient access should give Covance an advantage in the burgeoning personalized medicine business.

Another favorite, property and casualty insurer Arch Capital Group (ACGL), has a CEO, Marc Grandisson, who embodies the Buffett-like qualities that the fund managers seek. In fact, in the 1990s, Grandisson actually worked at Berkshire Hathaway (as did his predecessor, Constantine Iordanou, who is now retired). Under Grandissons aegis, Arch has been an excellent capital allocator and one of the few insurers to make a profit from its policy underwriting, Toyama says. Historically, the industry has lost money underwriting, and made it up in investments, he says, referring to how insurers typically use money from policy premiums to buy bonds and stocks.

Archs insurance underwriting has been successful because Grandisson is willing to walk away from business when a policy type becomes less profitable or commodity-like due to competition, Toyama says. It has decreased its major casualty insurance business over the years as it got more price competitive, he explained. The companys stock has taken a shellacking in 2020, down 29%, because of claims related to Covid-19. But it is precisely after such calamities that insurance premiums go up and profitability increases, Toyama says. The fund is staying put.

Typical of a high-quality mid-cap portfolio, many of the funds holdings are industry leaders but not household names. So 16% of its portfolio is in technology, but not in the Amazon.coms (AMZN) of the world. Instead, the fund invests in companies like tech research publisher and consultant Gartner (IT).

Newsletter Sign-up

Every weekday evening we highlight the consequential market news of the day and explain what's likely to matter tomorrow.

Gartner has a very attractive business model in that its core product is a written research service that is sold on a subscription basis, Romanowich says. So, it has very visible, highly recurring revenue. The company has a major advantage as the leading research intermediary between tech buyers and sellers, he says. Gartner knows what end users want, and what corporations tech road maps look like. They also know what tech vendors are thinking and what their technology road maps look like.

That informational advantage provides an economic moat any Warren Buffett fan would admire.

Write to editors@barrons.com

Read more from the original source:
This Mid-Cap Stock Fund Wins With Warren Buffetts Strategy - Barron's

Scientific Bioprocessing Inc. (SBI) is on a mission to help scientists and engineers de-risk drug development through leading-edge technology that improves the efficiency, effectiveness, and reproducibility of cell culture and bioprocessing.

SBIs single-use optical sensors provide non-invasive, real-time measurement and data monitoring across all form factors from small flasks to the largest bioreactors, enhancing development consistency and scalability. SBI offers a suite of optical sensor products that will be a key component to the biopharma industrys push to standardize processes, reduce development costs, and speed up time to market across cell and gene therapy, tissue engineering, organ-on-a-chip development, and the wider biotech and pharma sectors.

Given the advanced biomanufacturing challenges faced by these industries, and the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) push for stronger regulatory controls via its Process Analytical Technology (PAT) guidance, we thought it an opportune time to talk with John Moore, SBIs President and the Chairman of the Board of Scientific Industries, Inc., SBIs parent company.

Dr. Govind Rao at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and his team from the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology developed optical sensors and licensed them to Fluorometrix, which was then acquired by Scientific Industries in 2011. The sensors were licensed to Sartorius for use in their Ambr and Cultibag systems.

We were in on the ground floor in the very early days of single use technology and the data revolution that is happening in bioprocessing. Since 2011, Sartorius and General Electric have used the licensing of our sensors to sell over $1B worth of products.

The future of personalized medicine is bright. Cell and gene therapy, regenerative medicine, and organ-on-a-chip are virtually untouched by the benefits of optical sensors. Whats really exciting about the market is this: even in biologics only 30% of the 30 approved drugs use single-use bioreactors, yet there are some 1,000 biologic drugs in the clinic right now and 800 are using single-use bioreactors. The industry is really moving away from reusable, stainless steel vessels to disposables. The demand for optical sensors is going to grow dramatically.

I started off as an investment banker in 1987 and our team took Organogenesis, the first regenerative medicine company, public. In 2002, I acquired a portfolio of 16 drug delivery assets from Elan Pharmaceuticals with $148M in funding from the Anglo Irish Bank to buy the portfolio. The transaction occurred over a weekend and was credited with saving Elan Pharmaceuticals from bankruptcy.

What I learned through that process was how some of the most promising companies in our portfolio failed and how some of the most underrated companies ended up having success. I learned how important data and clinical trials are to the success of companies. Wall Street has evolved to understand that the initial scientific insight that created companies is important but not sufficient to create economic value for the shareholders or to benefit society.

As Chairman of Trialogics, a leading clinical trial software provider, I have observed that, remarkably, 50% of clinical trials are still run on paper. I am excited to invest and lead companies like Scientific Industries and SBI that are focused on removing process inefficiencies to improve drug development process and FDA approval chances. The common theme is creating simple, affordable tools to help speed new, safe and effective drugs through approval into the hands of doctors and patients.

SBIs mission is to empower our customers to accelerate the discovery of safe, effective, and affordable solutions in the biotech industry. Our optical sensors can be installed in the smallest scale, early development vessels all the way through clinical trials and downstream manufacturing post-approval. We believe we can deliver the instrumentation and sampling that is required to wring huge inefficiencies out of the development process.

Historically, testing has been done offline and that requires taking samples, risking contamination, and creating an asynchronous effect that runs the risk of losing a million dollar batch of biologics because it wasnt sampled in real-time.

SBIs new generation of sensors empowers bioprocessing engineers to understand the design parameters for an experiment at the earliest conception of the product. The sensors are then placed in the single-use bioreactors and are able to tell the engineers when the batch is going out of the design parameters and they can immediately course-correct by changing what they are feeding the cells or by adjusting the pH of the culture, for example.

In addition, there have been three waves of Artificial Intelligence. The current wave requires accurate, real-time data to be able to make its calculations. The current electrode sensors cant provide this. Our optical sensors are the size of a hole-punch and you can use them to map bioreactors, you can put tens or even hundreds of sensors throughout a bioreactor or deploy them across the process to determine your critical quality attributes. You cant use an electrode or even an optical sensor in a probe format in the earliest stages of development that use multi-well plates and flasks. Our products are available in a variety of form factors within inexpensive kits so that it can be as useful for a cell scientist or a process development person as a telescope is for an astronomer, or a microscope for a microbiologist. We believe all kinds of incredible new insights are going to emerge because of the proliferation and affordable nature of our sensors.

I have a friend that does business development for a large pharmaceutical company; he has personally led over 50 development and licensing deals for biotechs. He told me that they are willing to pay twice as much for an asset that has a strong data package than for an asset that does not. Often scientific researchers focus on the scientific breakthrough and not on documenting the early-stage experiment design and critical quality attributes. Entrepreneurial scientists will see a big benefit by capturing early-stage development data packages because this makes their asset much more attractive to licensors. Strong data packages save years of research work and patent life for the licensors of the technology. Our sensors can help build these strong data packages right from the start.

PAT is guidance from the FDA. What the FDA is trying to do is encourage the voluntary implementation of quality assurance systems as early as possible in the process. The FDA wants consistent QA processes from early-stage experiments through FDA submission and post-marketing.

Just like a good data package is critical for convincing a licensor to take a risk on a project, PAT will improve the likelihood of FDA approval. The FDA doesnt care about whether you have a 10% or 70% yield, they want to know you have the critical quality attributes and monitoring to always deliver that consistent 10% or 70% yield. The FDA wants to know that you have a plan of action for QA.

SBIs sensors and our products can help our clients and partners increase experiment and process repeatability because we offer non-invasive, scalable, automated and real-time data monitoring that is critical to meeting the FDAs PAT guidance for quality assurance.

Biologics drugs today span from large scale, big batch biologics to small scale personalized therapies using autologous cells. One of our partners is the cell therapy company Adva Biotechnology. Advas CEO and Founder Ohad Karnielis vision is to put single-use bioreactors at the point-of-care in hospitals. His vision illustrates the personalized medicine fields aspirations.

The industry will need optical sensors in both large scale manufacturing and for personalized medicine to broadly and affordably deliver its miracles to patients.

One of the less discussed benefits of increased automation and one-touch controls is that cell scientists get to focus on great science and not on just labor intensive sampling and moving liquids. Increased automation and the removal of manual inputs creates more space for the genius of observation and invention in the lab.

It will mean faster FDA approvals, lower costs for patients, and safer therapies. Many cell therapies today cost $500K per patient, and the industry needs to lower this cost to around $100K per patient. Strong quality control and increased repeatability will improve safety, ultimately enabling more drugs to be approved by the FDA faster because of reduced risk and increased regulatory compliance.

A lot of success boils down to three things: credibility, visibility, and understanding the theory of your business. Reinhard brings all three of these to SBI. In our case, the world is full of small companies that have developed individual sensors that dont have the commercial muscle to educate the market. We are creating a company that is poised to redefine cell culture.

Reinhards vision is that there is a big gap in the market. He believes the market doesnt need another small sensor company; the market needs a single, global, one-stop-shop provider for almost any conceivable monitoring and process control modality. He brings a very practical and valuable commercial perspective to SBI.

We are aggressively in-licensing new sensor modalities and are on the acquisition trail. We are part of NIIMBL, ARMI, and ReMDO. What youll be seeing from SBI is collaboration with industry partners at these organizations, and we will be raising non-dilutive funding for adding additional sensing modalities for measuring glucose, lactate, secreted genes, and other key measurables.

There will be some mind-blowing new functionality coming and scientists will be able to design drugs that they never could have dreamed of without the insights they gain from these sensors.

Steve has over 20 years experience in copywriting, developing brand messaging and creating marketing strategies across a wide range of industries, including the biopharmaceutical, senior living, commercial real estate, IT and renewable energy sectors, among others. He is currently the Principal/Owner of StoryCore, a Frederick, Maryland-based content creation and execution consultancy focused on telling the unique stories of Maryland organizations.

Continue reading here:
In Conversation with John Moore, President of Scientific Bioprocessing Inc. (SBI) - BioBuzz

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --KlaHealth, Inc., a surgical intelligence platform that applies a dynamic cycle of patient-specific predictions, stratified interventions, and outcomes tracking to reduce surgical complications, today announced the closing of a $2.9 million Seed financing and milestone-based $10 million Series A financing led by Sant Ventures and Intuitive Ventures, and inclusive ofgrant funding from the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. These funds will accelerate the expansion of the KlaHealth platform to hospitals and surgical partners across the United States.

A Growing Need for Quality Improvement in Surgical CareIn the U.S., 51 million surgeries are performed annually, with an average complication rate of 15 percent. This results in millions of patients suffering harm and loss after a procedure. Tragically, half of these complications are known to be avoidable, and contribute to $77 billion in wasted healthcare costs each year.[1],[2]

KlaHealth helps to prevent these avoidable complications while enhancing surgical care by delivering stratified patient risk scoring. The company's state-of-the-art platform uses machine learning algorithms to match individual risk levels with graduated pathways of care that align with the unique needs of each surgical patient.

These personalized efforts bring surgery into a new era of precision medicine: with KlaHealth, surgeons can match the right patient with the right procedure with the right precautions at the right time, leading to improved patient outcomes and significant hospital savings.

The Genesis of KlaHealth KlaHealth was founded by CEO, Bora Chang, MD, and advisors Erich Huang MD, PhD, and Zhifei Sun, MD, at Duke University Health System. As practiced clinicians, all of them understood, firsthand, the unique priorities and challenges facing surgical teams.

"As a trained surgeon, I know the complexity of decision-making in caring for surgical patients," said Dr. Huang, Chief Data Officer for Quality at Duke University Health System. "We began this work because we knew that an objective, risk-based stratification tool could help providers deliver the highest levels of care."

Dr. Chang, CEO of KlaHealth added: "Our vision is to apply the lessons learned from millions of previous surgeries for the benefit of every patient undergoing a procedure. Patients and their families, clinicians, and hospitals deserve the assurance that the risks of any surgery will be safely navigated by surgical teams with the best information available to them at every point in the surgical journey. We are thrilled to have a stellar group of surgeons, hospital centers, investors, and advisors working with us to realize the opportunity of precision surgery."

Unlocking Potential Across DisciplinesTo date,KlaHealth's hospital partners have applied the company's AI-powered platform in colorectal, vascular, cardiac, and orthopedics surgical specialties.

"In our cardiac surgery department, our partnership with KlaHealth has identified up to $3 million a year in cost savings by optimizing post-procedure management for our cardiac patients," said Bruce Gewertz, MD, FACS, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Their work showcases the opportunity for improved resource utilization and data-driven clinical best practices across the surgical care continuum."

Citing colliding trends in digital health and care optimization, KlaHealth's investors emphasized the potential of the solution throughout the ecosystem of surgical care:

"KlaHealth's platform represents a powerful solution for providers and medical device partners looking to unlock the potential of data in pursuit of improved outcomes and lowering the cost of care," said Oliver Keown, MD, Director of Intuitive Ventures.

"Data-driven surgery will positively transform the way both hospitals and physicians care for patients, and we are excited to team up with KlaHealth to further innovate surgical care," added Dennis McWilliams of Sant Ventures.

About KlaHealth

KlaHealth is a healthcare data analytics company that delivers patient-specific predictive insight and risk stratification software to help improve surgical quality and prevent complications. The company was founded by a group of surgeon-scientists with a goal of harnessing machine learning algorithms to reduce patient surgical complications and improve outcomes. KlaHealth uses advanced artificial intelligence techniques to deliver a cloud-based software-as-a-service solution to healthcare providers, surgeons, and hospital systems. The company has participated in highly selective accelerator programs such as Cedars-Sinai Techstars Accelerator, Healthbox Studio, and Plug and Play. For more information about KlaHealth, visit http://www.KlaHealth.com.

About Sant Ventures

Founded in 2006, Sant Ventures is a specialized healthcare and life sciences investment firm with over a half-billion dollars in capital under management. The firm invests in early-stage companies developing innovative new medical technologies, biotechnologies, and digitally-enabled healthcare services. Recent Sante successes include Claret Medical (Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (Becton Dickinson), Millipede Medical (Boston Scientific), Molecular Templates (MTEM), AbVitro (Celgene), and Explorys (IBM Corp). Sant invests nationally and is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with additional offices in Houston. For more information, please visit http://www.sante.com.

About Intuitive Ventures

Leveraging Intuitive's entrepreneurial spirit and expansive technological and clinical reach, Intuitive Ventures invests in transformative opportunities advancing positive outcomes in healthcare. The fund is focused on US and international early-stage start-ups and takes a long-term outlook to support portfolio companies reach their major milestones. Through its inaugural $100 million fund and with leadership combining decades of investing and operational experience, the team cultivates strategic resources to drive financial returns and accelerate the future of minimally invasive care. More information and future updates can be found at: http://www.intuitive-ventures.com.

[1]Dimick. J Am Coll Surg. 2004 Oct:199(4)531-7.2004.[2]Healy. JAMA Surg. 2016 Sep 1:151(9)823-30.

Contact: Elissa Baker [emailprotected]

SOURCE KlaHealth

http://www.kelahealth.com/

See the article here:
KlaHealth Raises $12.9M in Combined Seed and Series A Financing Round to Deliver AI-Powered, Clinician-Centered Solutions That Improve Surgical Care -...

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Imbio, a healthcare technology company developing the leading suite of medical image analysis for pulmonary and cardiothoracic diseases, and Siemens Healthineers, a leading medical technology company, announced they are partnering to expand access to Imbio AI algorithms worldwide. Physicians will now be able to apply Imbio's automated AI for quantitative image analysis directly through the Open Apps interface on Siemens' syngo.via platform.

Imbio provides quantitative and personalized imaging analysis for patients suffering from both acute and chronic diseases. Imbio's fully automated technology transforms chest CT studies into rich visual maps of a patient's lungs with accompanying reports that provide detailed data on the type and extent of abnormalities found in the images. For example, with Imbio Lung Density Analysis and Lung Texture Analysis clinicians can quickly visualize a patient's lungs to support diagnosis and treatment decisions for a variety of patient conditions including COPD/emphysema and fibrotic disease. Imbio products support multiple clinical initiatives such as lung cancer screening, smoking cessation and pulmonary embolism management programs, and can be used in clinical trials and academic research for numerous diseases.

"Delivering our AI solutions requires a reliable and trusted platform like syngo.via. Together with Siemens, we can now offer physicians an easily accessible and cost-effective way of testing and ultimately using our imaging AI applications without adding complexity or investments into existing hospital infrastructure. We look forward to working with Siemens Healthineers to bring our entire portfolio of products to physicians for more personalized care of patients with respiratory and cardiothoracic diseases," says Mike Hostetler, Director - Marketing and Sales at Imbio.

About ImbioImbio is a leader in fully-automated AI image analysis for acute and chronic pulmonary and cardiothoracic conditions. Imbio's solutions transform the way patients are discovered, diagnosed and treated, enabling physician productivity and more personalized care for patients. Imbio's solutions are fully automated, regulatory cleared and available through our global partners. For more information, please visit http://www.imbio.com.

About Siemens Healthineers As a leading medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, Siemens Healthineers enables healthcare providers worldwide through its regional companies to increase value by empowering them on their journey towards expanding precision medicine, transforming care delivery, improving the patient experience, and digitalizing healthcare. Siemens Healthineers is continuously developing its product and service portfolio, with AI-supported applications and digital offerings that play an increasingly important role in the next generation of medical technology.

SOURCE Imbio

Visit link:
Imbio Partners with Siemens Healthineers to Deliver Image Analysis Tools to Clinicians Across the Globe - PRNewswire