New wave of Bay Area companies tame DNA data storm

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Andreas Sundquist is no medical doctor, but his expertise in electrical engineering and computer science places him and technologists like him on the cusp of solving some of the knottiest human medical problems.
Sundquist’s DNAnexus Inc. is one of at least a half-dozen young Bay Area companies using computational biology and genetics to unleash exabytes of stored genome sequencing data into everyday health care. By blending their computer algorithms and software with medical know-how, experts say, clouds full of cheaper and cheaper DNA data could rain down treatments and new drugs for previously mysterious and common medical conditions.
The burgeoning industry of genome analysis — at the intersection of the Bay Area’s high-tech and biotech expertise — could make some visionaries very rich. On the other hand, easy-to-use genetic data could turn today’s diagnostics industry upside down.
But to Sundquist and other pioneers, their companies’ value lies in volume and the ability to turn Big Data into big-time answers.
“You can argue that social networks are for rich kids, that Twitter is for value seekers,” Sundquist said. “But everybody has DNA.”

Omicia frees VAAST data to find vital gene variants

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From a narrow office in Emeryville, software engineers with experience designing systems like those that help retailers price products quickly are working on a way to allow medical researchers to rapidly identify gene variants.
VAAST — the Variant Annotation, Analysis and Selection Tool — was developed by Omicia Inc. and scientists at the University of Utah, with the help of a $400,000 federal recovery act grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute. It could be introduced commercially later this year.
“From the first day we wanted to focus on clinical management,” said Martin Reese, Omicia’s co-founder, chairman and CEO. “Researchers come in with a clinical question and you try to solve it.”

Scenes, thoughts from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

If the Occupy Wall Street folks wanted to shut down biotech’s biggest wheeling-and-dealing session, the 30th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, couldn’t they just contact the San Francisco fire marshal?
The Occupy movement supposedly was the reason J.P. Morgan asked the Westin St. Francis for additional security for the conference this week. Badge-checkers were at their usual stations inside the hotel but also were moved outside of the hotel, creating more logjams than usual on the sidewalk along Union Street.
Folks staying at the hotel had to show their room keys, so the security crush significantly cut down “clock tower” meetings in the hotel’s lobby. Coupled with the unusually good January weather, Union Square became the preferred chat-up locale, to the point that the park was overrun by posses of (mostly) men in black suits.
All in all, the mood seemed less dreamy, more serious. Even last year, life sciences companies still in shock from the financial crisis seemed like zombies: “Must focus portfolio … arrrrrgh … Be virtual … ugh.” They walked the talk, but they didn’t really seem to mean it. This year, the companies indeed were focused, their milestones tangible.