June 5, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
CHICAGO -- Amazon.com Inc. , known for its plethora of online shopping options, is setting its sights on another online powerhouse, Google Inc., in the billion dollar quest to store data on human DNA, The Globe and Mail reported this morning.
Amazon Web Service and Google Genomics are competing for high-profile genomic projects as personalized medicine, also called precision medicine, becomes firmly entrenched in the future of the industry, which is attracting multiple tech companies to the field. A report in Gadgets noted that clients say the cloud services are more cost effective, more secure and do a better job of being able to store genomic data.
Currently the cloud systems in the genomics market generate an estimated $100 million to $300 million annually, but is expected to grow to more than $1 billion by 2018.
Raw DNA data is uploaded to Amazon‘s cloud, where software from privately-held DNAnexus assembles the millions of chunks into the full, 3-billion-letter long genome, the Times of India reported.
The algorithm then determines where an individual genome differs from the baseline reference. Amazon Web Services is being used by several pharmaceutical companies, including San Diego-based Human Longevity Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health Systems.
Google Genomics is a system that allows hospitals, research facilities and universities to store and share genomic data. In January Google announced thousands of data points have already been uploaded onto the platform. Google has been making great strides in personalized medicine. In May Jessica Mega, a prominent cardiologist at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has left to head up the Baseline Study of Google X, the technology company’s life sciences division.
The Baseline Study program is part of the precision medicine initiative to “understand what it means to be healthy, down to the molecular and cellular level,” Google said in a statement. Google’s Baseline Study is collecting genetic and molecular information on 175 people for its first trial. That information will be entered into a large data base and researched through various algorithms and other data sets to probe unresearched connections between genetics and various diseases in hopes of identifying those biomarkers that can be the target of potential medications that are more precise in treating ailments.
The Baseline Study is collecting data to determine what a “normal human” looks like at its core in order to establish a baseline. Data is being collected in multiple ways, including genome sequencing, researching family history and collecting bodily fluids such as urine and blood. That research will allow drugmakers to provide targeted therapies for individual care – a key portion of precision medicine.
Andrew Conrad, head of Google X, said the mission of the life sciences division is “to change healthcare from reactive to proactive. Ultimately it’s to prevent disease and extend the average lifespan through the prevention of disease, make people live longer, healthier lives.”
In January Google and multiple sclerosis drug maker Biogen Idec, Inc. teamed up to research and address environmental and genetic factors that can cause the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis. The company created Google Genomics, a system that allows hospitals, research facilities and universities to store and share genomic data.
Additionally Google has teamed with Duke University to work on a project to measure and reclassify diseases in two North Carolina counties.
Personalized medicine has been backed by the Barack Obama administration.
“Precision medicine gives clinicians tools to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying a patient’s health, disease, or condition, and to better predict which treatments will be most effective,” the Obama administration said in a statement. “Patients with breast, lung, and colorectal cancers, as well as melanomas and leukemias, for instance, routinely undergo molecular testing as part of patient care, enabling physicians to select treatments that improve chances of survival and reduce exposure to adverse effects.”
When Will Pfizer’s Breakup Happen?
Speculation that the revamping of Pfizer Inc. ’s internal business structure could happen as soon as this year has biotech wondering just when this Big Pharma company could see changes.
Last week an analyst with J.P. Morgan said he thinks there will be a much faster timeline than most of Wall Street had predicted for Pfizer’s stated mission to refocus its efforts on new medicines.
Pfizer initially announced in 2012 that it would be shedding units that were non-essential to that goal. It then promptly sold its nutrition silo to Nestle for $11.85 billion, which was rapidly accompanied by a public spin-off of its animal health business for $2.2 billion.
“While a Pfizer break-up would likely be a 2017 event, we see potential catalysts in 2015-2016,” said Chris Schott, an analyst at J.P. Morgan. “Three years of audited financial statements (2014-2016) are required before any part of Pfizer can be spun off, and we also see 2017 as an attractive time for action as investors see Pfizer’s innovative pipeline clearly contributing to growth and the established business having transitioned to a more stable profile.”
BioSpace wants to know what you think: Will Pfizer be a changed company by the end of 2015?
