US Company On Board with England's Genome Sequencing Project

Reuters reports that a US company that uses artificial intelligence to discover new drugs and diagnostics is to work with England's national genomics project to mine DNA and health data for potential drug targets.

Berg (Boston, MA), co-founded in 2006 by billionaire Carl Berg, uses artificial intelligence "to look at patterns in the data to find areas in the biology that are fingerprints of that disease." The company uses an artificial intelligence supercomputer platform to look inside cells and study the proteins, the lipids that form cell membranes and govern cell communication and the way cells metabolize energy.

Genomics England's 100,000 Genomes Project aims to accelerate development of new diagnostics and treatments through a year-long industry trial. It will sequence 100,000 genomes from around 70,000 NHS patients with a rare disease, plus their families, and patients with cancer. The project, currently the largest national sequencing project of its kind in the world, seeks to create a new genomic medicine service for the NHS, offering patients a diagnosis where there wasn’t one before.

Berg will open a UK office in the next year and has announced it is seeking collaborations with drug company and academic partners in Europe.