Spotfire is partnering with mass spectrometry provider Micromass to give users of Micromass’ Mass-Lynx software easy access to Spotfire’s DecisionSite application.
Under the partnership, Micromass will implement a “launch button” to DecisionSite in its MassLynx mass spectrometry software. The launch button will give users of MassLynx and DecisionSite a seamless means of accessing and analyzing chemical and proteomics data.
In addition, Micromass has joined Spotfire’s Network Partnership Program, an alliance of commercial organizations, universities and research institutions that provide services to customers in the market Spotfire serves; while Spotfire has become a charter member in the Micromass e-MS Consortium, an alliance of software producers aiming to enhance interoperability for mass spectrometry.
Mark McDowall, marketing manager for Micromass, said the company’s partnership with Spotfire is slightly unusual compared to its other e-MS Consortium partners, who are more focused on the mass spec buyer.
“Spotfire software would typically be bought not by my customer, but by my customer’s customer,” McDowall said. In practice, he added, users of mass spectrometers pass protein data onto colleagues and partners who then combine it with data from other sources using software such as DecisionSite.
He said that mass spectrometry is now seen more as a data acquisition device than a specialized tool. As a result, decisionmakers are increasingly demanding access to mass spec data, considering it one of several information sources that are combined to gain higher-level knowledge.
“Micromass’s strategy here is to make it easy for owners of Micromass mass spectrometers in big pharma to provide data to their customer in a format that is compatible with Spotfire,” McDowall said.
There are currently 10 members in the e-MS Consortium, including Micromass and Spotfire. McDowall said that Micromass is currently seeking further partners in this effort.
McDowall said that Micromass has several customers who have been using an ad hoc version of the Spotfire interface, and noted that an off-the-shelf hookup is just coming on to the market now.
Members of the e-MS Consortium are not bound by any financial agreements, but do enter into a non-disclosure agreement to share information on products in development to ensure they are integrated in advance of their release.
— BT