NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Inova Translational Medicine Institute and GNS Healthcare today announced a deal to develop and commercialize computer models based on GNS' technology.
The models will be built using GNS' Reverse Engineering and Forward Simulation data analysis platform, next-generation sequencing, and electronic medical record data that can predict preterm live birth risk, Inova and GNS said.
The models and corresponding software will be licensed to academic researchers, health systems, pharmaceutical firms and biotech companies. According to the partners, the models will link genetic and molecular factors with clinical, environmental, and behavioral data, as well as health outcomes. Such information can then be used to identify the associations and underlying causes of preterm birth for more effective diagnosis and the reduction of the risk for preterm birth.
Customers will also have optional access to the data used to develop the models, which includes whole-genome sequencing, RNA-seq, CpG methylation, proteomic, metabolomic, imaging, EMR, clinical phenotypes, and patient survey data from more than 2,400 individuals.
The models, said GNS Healthcare CEO and Co-founder Colin Hill, will "document the complex interactions of underlying preterm birth [and] create new ways for clinicians and scientists to understand these interactions, and will accelerate the discovery of new diagnostic tools and treatments for this condition, as well as other complex conditions."
Jim Vockley, COO and CSO of Inova Translational Medicine Institute, added that the partnership with GNS is "a first step toward building similar prediction models for other complex genomic diseases, such as autism, diabetes, and obesity."
Financial and other terms were not disclosed.