A Step Forward for Personalized Medicine--First Annual BioIT Alliance Meeting and Conference

Although a bit afield of our normal focus area, we thought the following might be of some interest as we start to see more active convergence of biopharmaceuticals and technology companies-especially around Personalized Medicine. We think Microsoft has some vision with this sponsorship.

Microsoft Announces Call for Presentations for First Annual BioIT Alliance Meeting and Conference

Life sciences influencers and member companies to come together to accelerate realization of personalized medicine.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 16, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a call for presentations for the first annual 2009 BioIT Alliance Meeting and Conference, where member companies will come together to share best practices and discuss the shared vision of driving collaboration, integration and interoperability among organizations to shorten the time between the discovery of new biological data and its application to human health. The meeting will be held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge, Mass., on Oct. 8 and 9.

The BioIT Alliance is an industry consortium of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, laboratory, diagnostics, hardware and software companies working together to realize the promise of personalized medicine. Presentations, accepted from member companies, will focus on case studies demonstrating collaboration and integration among members and new and innovative technologies that relate to the Alliance’s shared vision.

“With most drug discovery organizations relying on paper and nothing electronic and sharable outside the small lab workgroup, the BioIT Alliance formed with the vision of promoting integration and collaboration between these organizations to accelerate the realization of personalized medicine,” said Les Jordan, U.S. life sciences industry chief technology strategist at Microsoft and executive director of the BioIT Alliance. “With more than 100 member companies today, the Alliance has made great strides in promoting this vision, and our first annual conference will serve as an opportunity to share best practices and discuss the state of the industry.”

The call for presentations will close Aug. 28. More information, including details about deadlines and eligibility, is available at http://www.bioitalliance.org.

Also at the conference, members will vote on the 2009 BioIT Alliance board of directors. In June, the BioIT Alliance announced the formation of the board of directors, made up of seven individuals representing vendors, the biopharmaceutical industry and related industry standard boards. Led by Executive Director Les Jordan, the board of directors will provide guidance and direction to help the BioIT Alliance fulfill its vision.