Two interesting partners are working on a project to map the human immune system with the goal of creating a knowledge base that can be used to develop diagnostic tests. Microsoft and Adaptive Biotechnologies of Seattle are collaborating on this project. “Google categorized the world’s information on the internet. What we’re essentially trying to do with Microsoft is to catalog … what the interaction is between our immune system and all the diseases that they bind to,” said Adaptive CEO Chad Robins at the recent 2019 GeekWire Summit in Seattle. Once we start building out this map disease by disease, this is actually a web-scale problem.”
MORE ON: Immune System Map
Artificial intelligence is being used by Adaptive Biotechnologies and Microsoft to identify and map both the signals associated with diseases and the cell receptors that bind to them. Adaptive is using technology that decodes the genetic information associated with T-cells, a key element in immune response. Microsoft has invested $45 million in Adaptive and pledged to contribute $12 million in cloud services to support the immune system mapping project. This partnership is an example of how Silicon Valley and digital companies want to create products and services that can be used within the health system.
TRANSITIONS
- Incyte Diagnostics of Spokane, Wash., selected Antone Eek as its new Chief Financial Officer. Eek previously worked at Maui Health System/Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Grays Harbor Community Hospital, Molecular Testing Laboratory, RS Medical, Providence Health System, and Oregon Health Sciences University.
- LabCorp appointed John Ratliff to be CEO of LabCorp Diagnostics. Currently, Ratliff is CEO of LabCorp’s Covance division. He previously served at Quintiles, Acterna, and IBM.
- Becton Dickinson & Co. (BD) selected Tom Polen as its CEO, effective with the retirement of existing CEO Vincent A. Forlenza on Jan. 28, 2020. Polen left Baxter International in 2008 to join BD.
- Joydeep Goswami was appointed by Illumina, Inc. as its new Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. He formerly held executive positions at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Life Technologies, Invitrogen Corp., and McKinsey & Company.
That’s all the insider intelligence for this report.
Look for the next briefing on Monday, November 4, 2019.
Have you caught the latest e-briefings from DARK Daily? If so, then you’d know about …
…how DNA might some day be used to store data and thus replace silicon computer chips. It’s a possibility. Scientists at the University of Washington and Microsoft Research encoded data into DNA, thus demonstrating a potential new use for genetic sequencing.
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