Healthcare Matters

And you thought you understood what “big data” meant?

Whenever I see a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based byline, I give the story a second look. Having spent the better part of my career working for Cambridge-based BBN (a diversified contract R&D firm), I have a genuine affinity for the concentration of brainpower that seems to thrive in the Fresh Pond Circle area. Twas there that I learned that all men are not created equal –that some of us, in fact, are quite a bit more equal than others. Anyway, I don’t mind admitting that I was a pretty good “straight man” to these exceptional intellects for several wonderful years (I prefer “straight man” to “court jester”).

GenoSpace, LLC, is yet another Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that was founded in 2011 on the lofty principle that individuals should own and control access to their own genomic data. Recognizing that the rapidly falling cost of genome sequencing would make existing systems obsolete, the company developed a cloud-based data storage and “software-as-a-service” platform based on a robust, scalable, and secure data model. A key element of the GenoSpace system is its collection of intuitive, informative, data-access portals that can address the needs of a broad range of users. That simply means that the company can aggregate all kinds of data, digest it and present meaningful reports to a broad audience.

“With the cost of genome sequencing falling to $1,000 and below, we quickly recognized that data generation had become a commodity,” said John Quackenbush, GenoSpace CEO. “We wanted to solve the ‘last 100 yards’ problem and deliver data to individuals and organizations who need to access it in a form that is relevant to their needs. Everyone in medicine and biomedical research — from patients to pharmaceutical companies and everyone else in-between — can benefit from GenoSpace’s unique service offerings.”

GenoSpace currently works with disease foundations and health-care providers to extend the reach of genomic medicine and create a new paradigm for medical research. The company says that it is developing an information ecosystem capable of linking health-care constituencies to tools that will support the development and delivery of personalized medicine.

Enabling an infrastructure capable of supporting the development and delivery of personalized medicine? I wonder if that’s the beginning of all that could be done –or the end? Pretty cool stuff!

—Tom Finn

Sources: PRNewswire, GenoSpace