Persistent Systems and TGen, who have been developing a biospecimen management system called Bio4D, announced today a commercial version of the software.
Bio4D manages biological repositories for genetic and genomic research.
Biospecimens are materials taken from the human body, such as tissue, blood, plasma and urine that can be used for cancer diagnosis and analysis. Sometimes a small portion of a biopsy is saved and stored for more research to be done on it when more is known.
Bio4D, secure Web-based software, facilitates the proper collection, processing, re-use and management of biospecimens and data collected for research purposes, according to TGen’s Website.
Initial versions of the system have already been used at TGen to investigate the underlying causes of disease, according to a company press release.
Persistent Systems and TGen announced today that the commercial version in development will also manage the collection, processing, storage, distribution and analysis of biospecimens, which includes blood, DNA and tissue samples – some of which from cancer biopsies.
These types of systems allow physicians to provide care based on the genetic profile of each patient, called “personalized” medicine. IBM and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York announced in March that they are working together – IBM Watson crunching the data and MSKCC providing the medical expertise – to offer this kind of care to patients.
“Ultimately, tools like Bio4D have the potential to transform the management of biospecimens and supporting research data in a way that speeds information between researchers and oncologists,” said Dr. Jeffrey Trent, TGen’s president and research director. “Accelerating this process is one more way we can benefit patients.”
Bio4D will be equipped with features and functionality specifically designed for the needs of biobank scientists and biospecimen managers.
“Bio4D’s design tool greatly simplifies the study and data collection process, enforces good biospecimen management practices and compliance with global regulatory requirements,” added Peter Boler, senior vice president, life sciences and healthcare at Persistent Systems. “The solution’s Web-based technology means oncologists will be able to access data and system analysis results in real time from any industry standard Web browsers…making it easier than ever before to mine information and develop correlative analyses.”
Edited by
Braden Becker
