The Story:
Last month Dante Labs, a New York based multinational biotech platform that seeks to “make the most advanced genomic technologies available to everyone,” acquired Cambridge Cancer Genomics. Genomics is the study of all a person’s genes (his/her “genome”) including their interactions with each other. Genomics as an approach to cancer therapy is new and promising.
Significance:
Dante Labs was founded five years ago, CCG, a UK based biotech software concern, four.
CCG defines itself by the view that “increasing amounts of clinical and genomic data have the potential to transform cancer treatment, and enable oncologists to make smarter decisions about which drug to use in which circumstance.”
It has employed artificial neural networks and machine learning algorithms to this end.
This is a conviction typical of what is called “precision medicine,” the effort to personalize treatment, patient by patient. Oncology in particular is seen as a fruitful place for greater precision: every human body with cancer is a story of its own. Dante Labs, by buying CCG, is investing in that proposition.
In Pill Form:
The growth of precision medicine has been hampered by incompatible technology platforms. Bringing CCG and Dante together may be an institutional solution; machine learning is the technical solution. Coming years may well see a faster feedback loop between laboratories and treatment results.
