Alpha Genesis exploring blockchain tech in primate research

23-Aug-2018 - Last updated on 23-Aug-2018 at 15:54 GMT

(Image: Getty/iLexx)

Alpha Genesis is exploring blockchain technology applications in its primate research activities – the use of which aims to boost transparency and traceability across several areas of the business.

According to the SC-based company, blockchain-based applications will address a range of challenges currently facing contract research organizations (CROs).

President and CEO of Alpha Genesis Dr. Greg Westergaard told us the company has received initial start-up funds of $250K, though was unable to disclose the source due to confidentiality agreements.

As Westergaard explained, blockchain technology has various applications in the medical research industry – including more efficient record keeping, data distribution, and information sharing, due to its decentralized nature.

“In the context of a research facility involving monkeys, blockchain offers the ability to reliably collect and preserve both medical and research data, making it easier to retrieve records related to animal care,” he explained.

The technology also will help the company securely transact data collected at its South Carolina facility to global clients, “as well as facilitate simultaneous frictionless payments for products and services in a manner and speed that otherwise would not be possible,” explained Westergaard.

For Alpha Genesis, the next phase “takes the interconnected structure of existing hardware to link our facilities with consumers of our products and services to lower overhead costs and allow for potential new service offerings,” Westergaard explained.

Any potential new services offerings will provide “more value to customers for less money in a secure environment providing benefits to all concerned,” he said.

“Given the increasingly competitive nature of the research industry, with China making heavy investments in information technology and biomedical infrastructure, we see blockchain as the next innovation in a contractor dominated field,” he added.

“We anticipate that in the next decade blockchain technology will do for biomedical research innovation what the internet has done for information retrieval over the last 25 years,” Westergaard said, “and Alpha Genesis plans to be at the forefront of this scientific revolution.”