Transcell Biolife, a biobank (www.transcell.in) for the intended applications inks a pact with Vantage Enterprise on creating big data in stem cell genomics repository of Asia.
Transcell Biolife is a biobank operating from India with growing repository of stem cells acquired nucleotide datasets (raw data) in addition to biosamples, biosamples derived stem cell units for the intended applications. Biolife envisions to go pan Asia with a vision as next generation biobank facilitating transformative medicine. Biolife signed a partnership with Vantage Enterprise as part of the group’s synergistic mission to create Asia’s precious population specific digital biobank that can support meaningful drug discovery, developmental programs of pharma industry.
Singapore based Vantage Enterprise (VE) is a movement to automate various industries, from healthcare to media and space using data. VE (with Dr Roger Foo of foo-lab.com on board whose interest and credibility is high in population genomics, epigenomic remodeling in South East Asia) is liasioning with (big) data industry stakeholders on a mission to make the global healthcare system predictive versus responsive, that will result in cost savings for all; including Governments, Pharma industry, Patients.
The purpose of understanding the genetics of disease (from big data in genomics) is to use that information to create new means of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease.
Gyan:
Stem cell is a mother cell with DNA that reads history and future of human race. Fresh analyses of next-generation sequencing datasets have shown that cell-specific regulatory elements in human stem cells are marked with distinguishable patterns of transcription factor binding and epigenetic marks. Transcription factors are known as drug targets and opportunities for therapeutic selectivity. The application of stem cell technology to discovery and development of new therapies is aided by detailed molecular characterization of stem cell identity, stem cell signaling pathways and target gene networks. Big data like ‘omics’—particularly transcriptomics and proteomics—facilitate cell characterization using thousands to tens-of-thousands of genes or proteins.
A key inspiration driving the analysis of humongous arrays of integrated signaling pathways and gene networks is to define disease processes enabling identification of novel drug targets. Information relating to genes and gene variants involved in disease phenotypes define candidate drug targets—and therefore candidate novel therapeutics—for human diseases, genomic epidemiology to estimate genetic factors that influence susceptibility to specific diseases or traits.
Hereditary (single gene, chromosomal and complex types) diseases predispose to many diseases. The large scale analysis of population specific networks formed by associations between genes/proteins; biological processes/pathways involved in disease occurrence, progression could be useful for pathology risk estimation and for design of new pharmacological approaches in the disease treatment. Identifying new drug targets in different ethnic groups, Identifying new genetic predictors of drug responses for patient, stratified population is possible only with access to population specific nucleotide sequences data availability. The other uses of large datasets is in Cancer precision medicine, Rare and undiagnosed diseases, Non-communicable diseases, Noninvasive prenatal testing, Newborn screening, Pharmacogenomics for rational drug use, Precision health both at individual and population level.
Large scale population genomics enables precision in public health., which is different from personalized medicine at individual patient level.
Revolutionary:
The new role of a biobanks in improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression and forms of dementia is of great interest to global pharma industry with a mandate to bring diagnosis, treatments targeting all kinds of stratified global population.
Stem Cell Reserve in the US is a biobank working on dual private/public storing platformeconomically sustainable business model with a mission to improve lives of patients suffering from tissue degeneration caused by injury, disease and aging.
Global Precedence – Use case:
UK Biobank (2006 incorporated) is a large and long term repository which is big time into big data in sample acquired population genomics contributing to genetic predisposition and epigenetics database to the development of disease. Regeneron and UK Biobank partnership (entered in 2019) offers an exceptional 'Big Data' resource to aid in Regeneron’stherapeutic discovery.The sequence data of 50,000 UK Biobank participants were generated through a collaboration between UK Biobank, Regeneron and GlaxoSmithKline and are linked to de-identified health records, imaging and other health-related data. Regeneron leads a consortium of biopharmaincluding Abbvie, Alnylam, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biogen, Pfizer and Takeda to complete exome sequencing of the UK Biobank participants.
Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, deCODE (Amgen’s subsidiary) has discovered genetic risk factors for dozens of common diseases by analyzing Icelanders population genomics.
