Microsoft Tackles Bioinformatics
April 4, 2006
Stacey Lawrence / Ziff Davis Internet
Microsoft on April 4 announced the formation of the BioIT Alliance, a cross-industry group created to enhance the ability to use and share biomedical data, at the Life Sciences Conference and Expo in Boston.
The working group will take on a series of "proof-of-concept" projects to understand how Microsoft's platforms can enhance the integration of the life sciences and IT.
"Advances in our understanding of the human genome promise to revolutionize medicine and open the door to therapies that are tailored to individuals," said Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft, in a statement...
Life sciences companies have unique technical challenges that often stymie existing pre-packaged and homegrown software solutions, such as the need for more comprehensive data integration solutions, better technical collaboration and stronger knowledge management capabilities.
For example, at least 15 percent of life sciences research is a duplicate of existing studies largely because all of the most appropriate references can't be found. This is one of the issues the alliance is working to address, according to Microsoft platform strategy advisor Don Rule. "We have just one customer who estimates spending $350 million a year duplicating research that already exists."
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