Genedata & Merck Co-Develop Digital Platform

Genedata recently announced the successful completion of a multi-year software development project in close collaboration with Merck, a leading science and technology company.

Fulfilling Merck’s expressed need for a large-scale data management and analysis platform to facilitate molecular profiling of large cohorts of patients by a wide range of geographically dispersed users in a secure and validated software environment, Genedata developed new features to enhance the power of Genedata Profiler, its leading software for translational and clinical research. Some feature highlights include:

-New end-to-end, digital pathology workflow system that enables the analysis and visualization of data from major imaging instrument vendors.

-Extensive data capture system that also integrates digital pathology, multi-omic, clinical, and biomarker data to provide a holistic data view serving as a basis for artificial intelligence approaches.

-Automated, compliant data workflows for neoepitope prediction, tumor mutational burden analysis, and other immuno-oncology specific workflows using NGS data.

-Workflow systems which can be deployed in a compliant environment for reproducible and trackable clinical decisions.

-Highly scalable data management system which allows global multidisciplinary teams to collaborate in a secure and controlled environment.

-Enhanced data governance, provenance and metadata support of clinical data, including file deletion upon revocation of patients’ informed consent.

-Enhanced deployment options on the Amazon Web Services® cloud to facilitate auto-scaling, monitoring and continuous validation.

-Bioinformatics interfaces for holistic assessment of different types of biomarker data enabling differentially skilled user groups to assess biomarker patterns by appropriate methods – from simple statistics to AI and machine learning.

“Working closely with Genedata, we have generated a digital biomarker research platform that will enable Merck scientists to better utilize clinical and translational data to generate innovative ideas for new biomarkers and drug targets,” said Joern Peter Halle, Head of Immuno-Oncology and External Innovation. “Merck Healthcare is fully committed to drive R&D digitalization to foster the development of Precision Medicines for the benefit of patients. The Genedata platform is an important cornerstone in enhancing the analytical capabilities of our teams with cutting-edge digital technology.”

“We are very pleased with the first milestone of this collaboration with Merck, a global leader in the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Dr. Othmar Pfannes, CEO of Genedata. “The project delivered a state of the art, compliant Genedata Profiler platform, including best-practice pipelines for processing and analysis of NGS and immunohistochemistry data from clinical trials, with the goal to develop more efficient treatments. We are committed to continue developing Genedata Profiler as the leading platform for improving clinical and translational research.”

Genedata and Merck plan to continue the collaboration with a view to develop the software platform to further enhance its capabilities to integrate different types of ‘omics data and to make use of the newest AI technology to generate deeper biological insights and better therapeutics.

Genedata Profiler enables biopharmaceutical research organizations to efficiently discover and develop precision medicines for cancer patients by streamlining data integration and analysis processes in translational and clinical research, while maintaining full compliance with data security and data privacy requirements. The newly enhanced Genedata Profiler platform is now available for license by third parties.

Genedata transforms data into intelligence with innovative software solutions and domain-specific consulting services that automate complex, large-scale experimental processes and enable organizations to maximize the ROI from their R&D. Founded in 1997, Genedata is headquartered in Switzerland with additional offices in Germany, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the US.