PA Consulting-Physiome deal will develop ‘virtual body’
Computer power’s major impact’
PA Consulting-Physiome deal will develop virtual body’
By RANDY OSBORNE
Healthcare InfoTech Staff Writer
SEATTLE Speeding up early clinical trials and identifying therapeutic targets more quickly by modeling "virtual" body systems is the approach of Physiome Sciences (Princeton, NJ), an in silico biotechnology firm that signed a potential $15 million deal with PA Consulting Group to push the research to the next level.
The pact was one of the more interesting deals of those rolled out at BIO ’99, held here last week.
Physiome already has developed a "virtual heart" a computer model that simulates the heart through mathematical equations and has been used in studying arrhythmia, as well as testing a new cardiovascular drug. With help from PA’s software, the companies will formulate a model of the immune system and will model, eventually, the entire body, said Bill Scott, CEO of Physiome.
"The PA system allows us to build systems out of organs and cells, but the software doesn’t care what kind of elements you link," Scott said. "[PA] approached us, because they felt there was a synergy with biology."
He added, "Until two years ago, there was never a full-scale model of a human or mammalian organ that was fully functional as a computer-based model. Really, people began to do this modeling in the 1960s with single cells, but there wasn’t sufficient computing power."
That has changed, he noted. More computing power at less cost has sped up the process exponentially. "A lot of people don’t understand how fast this is moving," Scott said. "It’s going to have a major impact on biology."
The partnership was disclosed the previous week, and Scott presented details about Physiome’s technology at the BIO ’99 gathering. "We build models of cells and organs," Scott told Healthcare InfoTech. "The building blocks are mathematical descriptions of functional properties of individual gene products."
Initial talks with contract research organizations have focused on using the heart model to detect cardiotoxicity of potential drugs detecting it early.
"You usually don’t see it until Phase III, when you have very large trials," Scott said. "It only comes up in 1% to 3% of patients. [Using the heart model,] we can say it’s either related to the mechanism of action of the drug, or it isn't." Physiome also has developed a prototype of the lung, Scott said.
For a larger model one that could benefit biotechnology firms across the board the immune system was a logical choice as the test case, he added. "You can think of the immune system as a disseminated endocrine gland," Scott said. "It consists of different parts all over the body. It’s ideal to use for this kind of thing, and gives us an opportunity to work out all the details."
Under the terms of the deal, Physiome acquires Organ Systems Modeling, a wholly owned subsidiary of PA, which holds the exclusive license to PA’s software in the field of healthcare. Physiome gets $10 million over the next 18 months, of which half is an equity investment and half is direct support. PA has the option to invest another $5 million in Physiome, if certain conditions are met.
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