This agreement between the Republican incumbent and his Democratic challenger comes only two years after the decision in the now-infamous Citizens United case, in which the United States Supreme Court effectively ruled — to put it rather bluntly — that money is speech and corporations are people in the realm of campaign finance law. Whatever one thinks of either Warren or Brown, they’re certainly bucking a national trend.

With an eye toward the rest of the country in this heated election season, Bierman writes that over $90 million have been in spend in 13 states with Senate races this year alone. None of this money, trickling down from political action committees (PACs) and other interest groups, has so much as paid for a sound bite in the election here in Massachusetts.

You have to wonder how the candidates are making this work in what might very well be one of the country’s most acrimonious, grudging, and competitive Senate race this year. But early on they came up with a relatively simple solution: every time a third-party group runs an advertisement, the party that benefits from the advertisement’s message must make a donation to charity directly out of its own coffers.

The Brown-Warren pledge represents a model for the rest of the country, one that should be strictly adhered to in an election season that promises to be rife with a slew of misinformation and even outright lies. And while I’ll refrain from coming down in this post for one candidate or the other, I should mention that I have a great deal of respect for both Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren in light of this agreement. At least the candidates are speaking for themselves.

–Will Holt also blogs at Letters from a Bay Stater, where this blog initially appeared.  http://williambrianholt.wordpress.com/

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning  marketing and communications firm.

Governor Deval Patrick and Medicon Valley Officials after signing collaboration agreement at 2012 Bio International Convention on 6/20/12. Photo by Anita Harris, Harris Communications Group.

“It’s not about what we can give you or take; it’s about how we can share.” So said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick before signing a collaboration agreement with officials from Medicon Valley MOU –located in the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Zealand in Denmark and Region Skåne in Sweden. The  agreement was one of two  partnerships signed today between Massachusetts and European regions. The second was with Catalonia, Spain.  Both  agreements were signed at the BIO International Convention.

“Our innovation economy is thriving here in Massachusetts and establishing and encouraging international partnerships is an important part of our future growth,” Governor Patrick said. “Catalonia and Medicon Valley are important regions in Europe’s innovation sector, and these partnerships will allow us to move forward on our mutual goals in this part of the global economy.”

The Medicon Valley memo of understanding (MOU) was signed by Governor Patrick and officials from the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Zealand in Denmark and Region Skåne in Sweden.

The agreement focuses on enhancing research partnerships in life sciences by an exchange of researchers and students; identifying special projects, partnerships or collaborations that can lead to new or enhanced research opportunities; and establishing a framework to be used in joint projects that could be financed by the European Union or National Institute of Health to develop new products and processes that can be used in the global market, according to a press release furnished by the governor’s office.

Medicon Valley is a bi-national region composed of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark and the Skåne region of southern Sweden. It is home to over 200 companies in biotech, med-tech, and pharmaceuticals with over 350 additional companies in those fields having affiliate or branch offices in the region. These industries employ 40,000 people.

The MOU with Catalonia, Spain was signed by Governor Patrick and the President of Catalonia, Spain Artur Mas I Gavarro, with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Alan Solomont present for the signing. The Patrick-Murray Administration has partnered with the Catalan Government to put real collaboration into a renewed agreement on the 20^th anniversary of Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci signing a Declaration of Intent of Cooperation in 1992 between Massachusetts and Catalonia, according to the release.

The agreement facilitates collaboration in the following areas:

a)         Bilateral cooperation in research, and technological and industrial innovation;

b)         Business cooperation and economic development in key productive sectors, especially in life sciences, renewable energy, information technology, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure, and;

c)         Academic cooperation.

Catalonia has pursued a policy similar to Governor Patrick’s of investing in the innovation economy. Areas of convergence include the life sciences, mobile devices, clean energy technology, and advanced infrastructure. In 2011, Spain was Massachusetts’ 21st largest export partner, with Massachusetts exporting approximately $326.99 million worth of goods and services.

The BIO International Convention provides Governor Patrick, Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, state and industry leaders with an opportunity to showcase Massachusetts as a global leader in the life sciences industry, and the preeminent place for life sciences companies to invest in and expand. On Tuesday, Governor Patrick announced the first round of grants awarded under the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP). MIIP is a formal collaboration between the State of Israel and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship between Massachusetts’ and Israel’s life sciences, clean energy and technology sectors. A total of at least $1.3 million is being awarded to four research & development (R&D) collaborations between Massachusetts and Israeli companies that have been jointly approved by the funding agencies on both sides. The total budget of the awarded projects is estimated at approximately $3 million. The Massachusetts awardees are located in Natick, Needham, North Billerica and Wilbraham.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor joined seven global biopharmaceutical companies to announce the formation of the Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium. Participating companies include Abbott, Biogen Idec, EMD Serono, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Merck, Pfizer and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. The Consortium will fund pre-clinical neuroscience at Massachusetts academic and research institutions.

Governor Patrick’s ten-year, $1 billion life sciences investment package has strengthened the state’s global leadership in the life sciences. The initiative melds all of the state’s key resources in order to spur research, investment, innovation and commercialization. Now the life sciences industry in Massachusetts is thriving, with more than 52 percent job growth in the biopharma sector since 2001 and more than 80,000 employees working in the life sciences.

–Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning  public relations and marketing communications agency located in Cambridge, MA.

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Four Massachusetts-Israeli business collaborations have received a total of $1.3M in grant funding under the  Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP)–a  formal collaboration between the State of Israel and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship between Massachusetts’ and Israel’s life sciences, clean energy and technology sectors.

The grants were announced yesterday at the  2012 BIO International Convention in Boston by Massachusetts  Governor Deval Patrick and  Israeli Chief Scientist Avi Hasson, of  MATIMOP, the  Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.

The four winning projects are:

• SBH Sciences (Natick) and Improdia (Israel) will work together toward the development and manufacture of a chronic inflammation-dependent immunosuppression prognostic kit. SBH will receive $184,000 from the Center and Improdia will receive $202,000 from Israel’s OCS.SBH Sciences is a discovery and preclinical contract research organization with expertise in production and analysis of cytokines and biomarkers. Improdia is a life science start-up focused on implementing novel biomarkers for immune system modulating therapies– using  simple blood tests for patients with chronic disease.

•  Automated Medical Instruments (AMI – Needham) and STI Lasers (Israel) will develop new technology involving radio frequency energy to perform circumferential ablation of the pulmonary veins. AMI will receive $116,000 from the Center and STI Lasers will receive $110,000 from OCS. AMI is a start-up medical device company developing novel technology to perform atrial fibrillation treatment. STI Lasers is a medical device company specializing in laser cutting, micromachining and finishing of miniature metal components.“AMI is developing the CircumBlator™,  to offer a reliable and curative, minimally invasive treatment for millions of patients with atrial fibrillation, a disease that causes over 20 percent of strokes and untold misery,” said Martin Sklar, President and CEO of Automated Medical Instruments.

• Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. (North Billerica) and Check-Cap (Israel) will  develop a novel 3-D imaging capsule that can be used to screen for polyps and lesions associated with colorectal cancer. Lantheus will receive $300,000 from MTC and Check-Cap has been selected to receive at least an equal amount from OCS. Lantheus  develops, manufactures and distributes innovative diagnostic imaging agents. Check Cap is a medical device company located in Mount Carmel, Israel with a “breakthrough” solution for Colorectal Cancer Screening.  “As a global leader in diagnostic imaging, Lantheus is dedicated to providing physicians with breakthrough new tools to enhance patient care. Teaming up with Check-Cap to develop and manufacture a cutting-edge imaging capsule further advances this ongoing commitment,” said Don Kiepert, President and CEO, Lantheus Medical Imaging.

• FloDesign Sonics (Wilbraham) and Transbiodiesel (Israel)  will use FloDesign’s acoustic molecule separation technology to separate oil that can be used to create fuel from Transbiodiesel’s oil-generating algae. FloDesign Sonics will receive $55,000 from MassCEC and Transbiodiesel will receive $20,958 from OCS. FloDesign Sonics uses a novel ultrasonic acoustophoretic separation technology developed at Western New England University for a more efficient approach to wastewater treatment and micro-algae harvesting for biofuels. Transbiodiesel is a start- up company with a novel technology for producing biodiesel fuels from a variety of oils

The MIIP program was first announced in June 2011 at the BIO International Convention in Washington, D.C. and the first joint solicitation for proposals was launched in September 2011 by MATIMOP on the Israeli side and by the three participating Massachusetts agencies: the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). Total funding for the current projects is approximately $3m.

The partnership came as a result of a 2011 trade mission in which  Governor Patrick and a coalition of Massachusetts business executives and senior government officials explored growth opportunities of common interest for Massachusetts’ and Israel’s innovation industries. During that mission Governor Patrick and Shalom Simhon, Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, signing on behalf of their respective states, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Jerusalem. MIIP was established to implement the MOU’s framework.

Massachusetts is the first U.S. state to establish a significant industrial R&D program with the State of Israel, according to a press release issued yesterday by Patrick’s office.

Today there are nearly 100 companies with Israeli founders or Israeli-licensed technologies in Massachusetts, according to the release.  In 2009, these companies employed nearly 6,000 people and generated $2.4 billion in direct revenue for the state. Local firms exported over $180 million worth of goods to Israel in 2009. Home to 377 hospitals and 37,000 practicing physicians, Israel is an important market for health-related technologies.

The New England-Israel Business Council, the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation, the Government of Israel Economic Mission to North America, the Consulate General of Israel to New England and MOITI have all played an important role in promoting the program, according to the release.

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning strategic public relations,  marketing communications and thought leadership firm in Cambridge, MA.

PRESS RELEASE

· New antibody program targets Tau protein, a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease

· License agreement potentially worth more than Swiss Francs 400 Million (approximately USD 418 million*)

Lausanne, Switzerland, 18 June, 2012 – AC Immune SA, today announced that it has entered into a second exclusive worldwide license agreement and research collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) for the research, development and commercialization of AC Immune’s anti-Tau antibodies for the potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, AC Immune will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible to receive research, development and commercialization milestone payments totaling more than Swiss Francs 400 million (approximately USD 418 million*) for Alzheimer´s disease and other indications. Additionally, AC Immune is eligible to receive royalties on net sales of products resulting from the collaboration. Under the multi-year joint research collaboration, AC Immune will work in partnership with Genentech to identify and formulate several pre-clinical candidates. Genentech will have global responsibility for pre-clinical and clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of antibodies resulting from the collaboration.

Prof. Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune said: “We are delighted to continue our excellent relationship with Genentech through this second landmark deal to fight Alzheimer’s disease. This underlines Genentech’s trust in AC Immune’s proprietary technology platform and we are confident in our joint abilities to develop not only
first-in-class but also best-in-class medication for one of the biggest healthcare problems of this century.”

“This second licensing deal gives us financial security to continue AC Immune’s
world-leading efforts to develop disease modifying therapies and diagnostics. We are now recognized as having one of the broadest and most advanced Alzheimer’s pipelines in the industry”, remarked Martin Velasco, Chairman of The Board of AC Immune .

Commenting on the deal, James Sabry, Genentech’s Vice President of Partnering , said: “Genentech is committed to bringing innovative treatments to patients suffering from devastating neurodegenerative diseases, and is developing a number of approaches to tackle Alzheimer’s disease. The addition of this anti-Tau program to our CNS pipeline complements other approaches we are investigating, including crenezumab which we in-licensed from AC Immune in 2006.”

About the anti-Tau Program

The Tau protein forms twisted fibers inside brain cells and build tangles that are considered by many in the scientific community as the second major cause of Alzheimer’s disease besides Abeta-plaques. The anti-Tau antibodies were discovered and humanized by AC Immune through its proprietary SupraAntigen TM technology.

“The anti-tau-antibodies have proven highly specific to misfolded Tau in relevant animal models for Alzheimer’s disease and are therefore well suited to be developed as a disease-modifying drug. This has significant potential as there are at present no known cures for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Andreas Muhs, Chief Scientific Officer
of AC Immune .

About Crenezumab

An anti-Abeta antibody, crenezumab was discovered and humanized by AC Immune. It is designed to bind to amyloid beta (Abeta), the main constituent of amyloid plaque in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Abeta is considered to be a major cause in the development of the disease. Genentech is currently evaluating crenezumab in a Phase II clinical study in Alzheimer’s patients with mild to moderate symptoms. At the time the deal with Genentech was announced in December 2006, it was stated to have a potential total value of more than USD 300 million in clinical and regulatory milestone payments to AC Immune, excluding royalties.

In May 2012, crenezumab was selected to be tested in the world’s first-ever prevention trial in healthy individuals who are genetically destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease. This landmark study to investigate whether an anti-amyloid treatment can stave off the disease is being run by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI), the University of Antioquia in Colombia and Genentech.

About Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer´s is the most common form of dementia. It is degenerative, irreversible and terminal. The memory and thinki ng of the patients is progressively destroyed. Besides the personal aspect there is a huge social and economic impact. Alzheimer´s disease is recognized as a significant health crisis of the 21st century with currently more than
36 million patients worldwide. This number is expected to double in the next 20 years and to triple to more than 116 million by 2050. In 2010 global worldwide costs were estimated to be USD 604 billion and were exceeding 1% of the global domestic product (Reference: World Alzheimer Report 2011, Alzheimer’s Disease International).

Scientists don’t yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer’s disease, but it has become increasingly clear that it develops because of a complex series of events that take place in the brain over a long period of time. Two proteins – Tau and Abeta – are perceived as the major causes of neurodegeneration: tangles and other abnormal forms of Tau protein accumulate inside the brain cells, while plaques and oligomers formed by Abeta occur outside the brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

About AC Immune SA
AC Immune SA is a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company and a leader in Alzheimer´s disease drug development. AC Immune develops innovative therapeutics with “best in class” potential against Alzheimer´s disease and other conformational diseases along three axes: vaccines, antibodies and small molecules. The anti-Abeta antibody (crenezumab) for passive immunization is partnered with Genentech and is in Phase II development. The company continues to develop in house the small molecule ACI-91 and the vaccine ACI-24 in Phase II and Phase I/IIa clinical development respectively. These three clinical programs are focused on Alzheimer’s disease, and are backed by a rich portfolio of preclinical compounds. The therapeutic molecules are also leveraged for Alzheimer´s disease diagnostic and other central nervous system and non-CNS diseases, such as Glaucoma. Since its foundation in 2003, AC Immune has raised CHF 64 million from private investors.

-Anita M. Harris
Disclosure: I will be working with AC Immune at the Biotechnology Industry Organization today in Boston.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning strategic public relations,  marketing communications and thought leadership firm in Cambridge, MA.

Four Boston-area startups were among those showcased  in an international program on collaborative cancer research & therapy clusters held today at the Whitehead Institute in Kendall Square, Cambridge.

All four of the Boston companies are developing methods and technologies that aim to better diagnose or cure cancer; all are hopeful; all are seeking funding, investors, or purchasers.

The program, called the International Cancer Cluster Showcase,  was sponsored by Sanofi, which recently purchased Cambridge-based Genzyme  Corporation, and by cancer  research and treatment clusters in the Norway, the UK, France and  in Massachusetts.

The program was held in conjunction with the International Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Convention, to start tomorrow.

In introducing the Boston area companies, Abigail Barrow of the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center,  who chaired  the Boston and the overall sessions,  pointed out that Cambridge is, perhaps, the paramount biotechnology and cancer research center in the US.

• AcuityBio, Inc. a Boston University Spinoff,  is developing a  biodegradable polymer mesh  to be implanted during cancer surgery for later, sustained use in local administration of cancer drugs, according to John Schwartz, the AcuitBio CEO.  The goal is to  prevent cancer recurrences in specific soft tissues thus improving the quality of patients’ lives, recucing the cost of care, increasing the length of disease-free progression and sigificantly improving cure rates for early stage cancer patients,  Schwartz said.

• Joel Beriac, PhD, the president & CEO of Akrivis Technologies said that his company is developing an ultrasensitive ” Z-Tect,” (TM) technology platform that promises to allow much earlier cancer detection and more effective personalized therapies than is currently possible. Z-tect will save numerous lives and reduce healthcare costs by lowering “several thousand fold” the current limit-of-detection of early cancer biomarkers, imaging much smaller cancer lesions. Akrivis plans to ultimately develop, beyond ultrasenstivie diagnostics, safer and more efficacious targeted therapies.

• BIOARRAY Therapeutics  is developing molecular diagnostics to improve cancer treatment decisions that are currently made on a trial-and-error basis, according to  Marcia V. Fournier, PhD, the BIOARRAY founder and CEO.  BIOARRAY’s core technology identifies relevant cancer biomarkers based on the normal biology and micro-environment representing underlying biological processes involved in the progression of tumors– independent of any specific patient set, cancer subgroup or treatment, Fournier said. The company’s lead diagnostic is a response prediction test for breast cancer–targeting the growing molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine markets.

• CanThera Therapeutics is a development stage oncology therapeutics company built on technology from the Mass General Hospital laboratories and the Broad Institute.  According consultant Peter Leone, the investigators have found that a natural substance, piperlongumine (PL) appears to kill cancer cells by jamming the machinery that dissipates high oxidative stress (ROS). Normal cells have low levels of ROS and don’t need high levels of the antioxidant enzymes that PL stymies. CanThera aims to advance a selected novel analog of PL into the clinic in 2012.

The showcase also featured:

QUEBEC PRESENTERS:

• Angiochem:     www.angiochem.com          

Q-CROC (Quebec – Clinical Research Organization in Cancer)    http://qcroc.ca      

OSLO PRESENTERS:

• Epitarget AS:       www.epitarget.com               
•  Lytix Biopharma:   www.lytixbiopharma.com          
• Targovax AS:    www.targovax.com       
• Vaccibody AS: www.vaccibody.com    

TOULOUSE/CANCER BIO SANTE CLUSTER PRESENTERS

• Carlina Technologies: www.carlinatech.com     
• Millegen: www.millegen.com
• Skuldtech: www.skuldtech.com      
  

UK PRESENTERS

• Senectus Therapeutics Limited: www.senectustherapeutics.com   

• Acublate  Limited

Poster Session Companies

Oncocat: www.oncocat.org/principal.php?idiom=eng

AB-therapeutics: www.ab-therapeutics.com

Oryzon: www.oryzon.com/es/inicio 

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning strategic public relations,  marketing communications and thought leadership firm in Cambridge, MA.

Alvin Ailey’s performance on Friday was spectacular: riveting, creative, beautiful and…fun!

                 The  program, one of several in new director Robert Battle’s first directorial season,  opened with Arden Court,

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Antonio Douthit and Alicia Graf Mack in Paul Taylor's Arden Court. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Photo by Paul Kolnik

set to the baroque music of Richard Boyce and the most “classically” patterned of the evening’s  pieces.

Described  as “an unfolding petal” by Dance Magazine and as  “lush”  and lauded by the New York Times for “the irresistible pleasure of its dancing,”  it  is replete with big movements,  high jumps, and  elegant formations.  This is the first season the Alvin Ailey company, founded in 1958,  has performed a work by Paul Taylor.

Video: at http://www.alvinailey.org/arden-court

The second piece,  Minus 16, by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin has been widely performed but it was a first for me–and  one of the most unusual dance compositions I’ve ever seen.

It began during what seemed to be an intermission…with  a dancer (Samuel Lee Roberts),  wearing a poorly fitting black suit, seeming to be  lackadaisically fooling around on stage..shuffle step, tap,  to rumba and cha cha music… as if there were no audience. Gradually, more men in hats, black pants and  T-shirts joined him.

In another part of Minus 16,  members of the company dressed in black suits white t shirts sat on folding chairs in a semi-circle– swooping forward and leaning back,  one after the other, in a clockwise wave– to a souped-up version of the passover song Echad Mi Yodea (one who knows). At the end of every repetition, and there were many,   the dancer in the chair farthest right  fell to the floor, taking longer and longer to return to his chair as the “wave” began again.    Part way through, the dancers removed their jackets, and, at the end,  they piled  most of their clothes, including their shoes, at the center of the stage.

In the final  piece of Minus 16,  the dancers walked somberly and silently off the stage and through the performance hall–  returning to the stage,   still silent, escorting  people from  the audience who were then incorporated into the performance.

At first, I thought the audience members on stage were plants: some were great dancers; some were hams; some were both–and many of the women selected wore red tops or scarves  and black skirts or slacks. But  not all were so dressed and not all seemed comfortable being led by their professional partners,  on stage.

The piece ended with all but one of the performers lying down on stage. The one left standing,  a slightly overweight middle-aged blonde  woman,  bowed gracefully.  The lights dimmed, and  a spotlight shone on  her as she walked across the stage,  down the steps  and through the hall to her seat.  The audience–including me–loved it.

I’ve since read in Dance Magazine that  if you want to be chosen to go on stage,  you should wear bright colors; if not, bring a pen and pretend to be a critic by taking notes.  And the Alvin Ailey Web site quotes Battle as saying that  Minus 16  “offers surprising new experiences for the company and our audience,”   and that it will be “both a great joy and a challenge for the dancers to improvise, break the fourth wall and invite the audience in.” So–the audience participation was for real.

The closing piece, Alvin Ailey’s 1960 Revelations, set to  familiar “traditional” songs such as “Wade in the Water,”  “Sinner Man,” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham,”

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Briana Reed and Yannick Lebrun in Alvin Ailey's Revelations. Photo by Gert Krautbauer

brought an encompassing sense of history to the entire performance.   I had seen Revelations as a teenager…and now, as an adult, the variety of periods, costumes it incorporated  got me thinking about the importance of art in integrating  the past and present–and escorting us into the  future.

–Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is a writer and consultant based in Cambridge, MA. New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a   PR and marketing communications firm.

Earlier this week,  I had the privilege of attending the tenth annual “BIO-IT World Conference and Expo,” at which some 2500  information technology professionals participated in a 12-track program featuring more than 200 presentations on scientific and technologic developments.

From  keynote speakers Jill Mesirov, PhD, and Martin Leach, PhD,  respectively the Associate Director and Chief Information Officer  of the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute,  I learned that exponential increases  in computing power promise to bring personalized medicine –allowing highly individualized diagnosis and treatment –to doctors offices within ten years. I also learned how hard it is to keep track of the petabytes  ( a PBs is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion  bytes, or 1024 terabytes )  used to keep it all going.

Mesirov announced the upcoming launch of “Genome Space“–a new Web-based technology to help scientists make sense of and collaborate in using such data.

And in a talk entitled “BIG,”  Leach described the difficulty of defining “big data,” because the amount of available information is growing so rapidly.   He described an event held recently at the Broad to celebrate the Institute’s ability to store and analyze ten pedabytes of data –his glee soon tempered by  his recollection that in 1993, NIH’s Institute of Medicine was thrilled with its ability store 16 gigabytes–which anyone can now do on a cell phone.

Today,  Leach said, we are  seeing “increasing big data with a decreasing footprint.” [that is, smaller systems needed for gathering and retrieval].

Mentioning that he has an autistic son and would like to be able to figure out what causes the disorder, Leach  asked, “Why is there no Google search for data, no way to access thousands of data repositories?

“We need a new application ecosystem and a breed of data scientist who knows how and where to push this data, ” he said.  He predicted that there will soon be 50 thousand jobs in the  “big data” arena.

In the exhibit hall,  I was pleased to see that  see that Wingu, headquartered in the Cambridge Innovation Center, where I work, had been nominated for a best of show award for its pharmaceutical, contract research and academic collaboration software.

The winners, announced last night, were Recentris, Opscode, Clear Trial, and Cambridge Semantics. [More info at http://www.bio-itworld.com/2012/04/26/2012-best-of-show-winners.html]. Best Practice Grand Prizes went to big Pharma: Merck, Pfizer, and Merck KGaA (Germany)  went to and two genomics organizations, BGI Shenzhen and the University of Utah/Omicia. http://www.bio-itworld.com/2012/04/25/bio-it-world-announces-winners-2012-best-practices-awards.html.

BIO-IT World is sponsored by  Insight Pharma Reports, Samsung, and the Portland Group. It runs through April 27, 2012.

—Anita M. Harris