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Lifebit, Psifas Partner to Advance Personalized Medicine Initiative in Israel

NEW YORK – Lifebit said Thursday that it has partnered with the Psifas Initiative to provide a secure and unified platform for clinico-genomic research in Israel.

Israel's Psifas Initiative launched in 2022 to collect and analyze clinical, genomic, and lifestyle information across the country's population. As part of that mission, it has developed the Israeli Genome Graph, a map of the genetic makeup of 60 Israeli subpopulations, which gives researchers access to longitudinal medical records and whole-genome sequencing data.

The platform enables researchers from academia, pharmaceutical companies, and the health tech industry to conduct medical research such as analyzing genetic mutation frequencies to identify disease-related variants to enable early disease detection and develop tailored medical treatments.

Under the agreement, the financial details of which were not disclosed, Lifebit will use its trusted research environment (TRE) to securely manage and analyze Psifas' dataset, ensure compliance with privacy regulations, and foster collaboration among other researchers.

The partnership will support several strategic studies on various diseases, including cancer and diabetes, as well as autoimmune and cardiovascular conditions.

UK-based Lifebit is also supporting other population genomics initiatives around the globe with its TRE platform.

In 2023, the company partnered with Gen-T of São Paulo, Brazil, and OmicaBio of Mexico City to diversify genomic datasets and reduce health disparities throughout Latin America.

"Lifebit is honored to partner with Psifas on this transformative initiative," Lifebit CEO Maria Chatzou Dunford said in a statement. "Our federated trusted research environment will empower researchers in Israel and across the globe to unlock the full potential of genomic data while maintaining the highest standards of security and privacy."