NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Scripps Health today said that it has received a $3.75 million grant from the Qualcomm Foundation for digital medicine efforts, including genomic-based technologies, conducted at the Scripps Translational Science Institute.
The funds will be used to support a wide variety of efforts including the advancement of clinical trials for wireless biosensor systems, the development of pharmacogenomics tests that would be administered in retail stores, and apps and sensors for tracking and predicting heart attacks, type 1 diabetes, and cancer, said Scripps.
Part of the funding will be used to support an ongoing collaboration between Scripps, researchers at Imperial College London, and London-based DNA Electronics, which is developing electronic microchip-based tests for real-time nucleic acid detection. The partners are testing a point-of-care genotyping test to determine a patient's compatibility with drugs such as Plavix (clopidogrel), metformin, and interferon.
"The support from the Qualcomm Foundation of our efforts at Scripps positions us to catalyze the future of digital medicine – a new form of health care that is remarkably precise, tailored to individual patients, and designed to engage them in their own care," Scripps Chief Academic Officer and STSI Director Eric Topol said in a statement.
The Qualcomm Foundation was established in 2010 by San Diego-based wireless technologies firm Qualcomm.