IBM in the UK and US based IDBS, a provider of data management, analysis and decision-making software for drug discovery, this week announced a global strategic alliance.
According to a joint statement from the companies on Wednesday, the alliance will bring together IBM and IDBS technologies to create a powerful informatics platform for drug discovery that integrates both chemical and biological data. The platform is designed to increase R&D efficiency, improve collaboration among researchers, and accelerate drug discovery.
According to a Tufts university study in the US, getting a new drug to market can cost as much as $800 million and development cycle can take up to 15 years. Throughout this process, a major challenge for the industry is accessing and effectively using available research data, such as the biological activities of drug candidates and recent discoveries about the human genome. The application of informatics solutions that address these issues can bring significant efficiencies to the discovery and development process.
Through the agreement, IBM and IDBS will deliver combined offerings designed to help drug discovery organisations maximise the value of their research data. IBM's computing and storage systems and infrastructure software for managing data, data integration and collaboration will be coupled with IDBS' software for the capture, organisation, integration, and analysis of biological and chemical drug discovery data.
"IBM and IDBS are pooling our substantial technology resources to help our pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers respond quickly to the new realities of the marketplace," said Carol Kovac, general manager, IBM Life Sciences. "Our customers are facing an urgent need to bring new drugs to the market faster and more cost effectively. They are asking for integrated solutions that will tie together their drug discovery processes. The joint IBM-IDBS offering is a compelling option that creates a more collaborative environment for chemical and biological researchers."