LifeMap Sciences Partners With MedGenome to Enrich NGS Analysis Reporting With Oncology Data

BANGALORE, December 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

LifeMap Sciences, Inc. ("LifeMap"), a life sciences technology company and a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., and MedGenome, Inc. ("MedGenome"), a genomics-based diagnostics and research company, announced today a global collaboration agreement. The agreement will strengthen LifeMap's next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis solutions in the oncology field by incorporating data from MedGenome's OncoMD database for use by LifeMap clients. The Oncology NGS market is a significant growth driver within the multi-billion dollar global NGS market.

LifeMap's NGS products facilitate and enhance biomedical research and healthcare outcomes. Powered by its comprehensive, proprietary GeneCards knowledgebase, LifeMap's NGS analytics software can rapidly and cost-effectively identify genetic variants that impact disease management and health outcomes. The GeneCards knowledgebase is used by more than 3000 institutions in over 200 countries worldwide.

OncoMD is a comprehensive knowledge base of cancer specific somatic and germ line variations collected from peer-reviewed scientific publications. It enables users to easily identify mutation prevalence in multiple cancer types as well as sensitivity to approved therapies via linkage of mutations to approved drugs and open clinical trials.

"Integrating OncoMD into our NGS analysis products is another important milestone in our ongoing NGS solutions development initiatives," said David Warshawsky, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of LifeMap Sciences. "MedGenome's OncoMD provides the latest scientific evidence and drug information to enable identification of driver mutations and the impact of targeted, personalized drugs, in the oncology area; elements of significant interest to our current and future clients in the oncology arena."

"We are happy to partner with LifeMap Sciences and to offer its users, our unique annotations on cancer variants," said Dr Kartik Kumaramangalam, Chief of Global Products & Services at MedGenome. "This is in line with our commitment to develop products and solutions that enable oncologists and researchers gather insights into the genetics of cancers"

About MedGenome, Inc. 

MedGenome is the market leader of genomic diagnostics in India providing tests in cancer, inherited diseases and Natera's Panorama Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT). MedGenome's genomics research services help pharmaceutical and biotech companies conduct large-scale genomics studies leveraging Indian population genetics. Its cancer analytics platform OncoMD, cancer immunotherapies solution OncoPept, and Integrated Genomics Platform enable and accelerate drug discovery. For more information, visit http://www.medgenome.com/.

About LifeMap Sciences, Inc. 

LifeMap Sciences ("LifeMap") is a life sciences technology company that offers integrated, streamlined solutions that empower life scientists worldwide to conduct cutting-edge basic, clinical and applied biomedical research. LifeMap's products are used in more than 3,000 institutions including academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and leading biopharma and diagnostic companies. Operations worldwide are carried out from our offices in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tel Aviv, and Hong Kong. LifeMap is a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.

The company's primary product offering, the GeneCards Suite, is comprised of an integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium tools that enable researchers to effectively navigate the universe of human genes, proteins, cells, biological pathways, diseases, and the relationships between them. The knowledgebase includes three key databases that integrate information from over 120 sources: GeneCards®, the leading human gene database, MalaCards, the human disease database, and LifeMap Discovery®, the cells and tissues database. The GeneCards Suite premium tools are a set of biomedical data analysis applications that leverage the GeneCards Suite knowledgebase for gene variant prioritization and RNAseq and microarray gene set analysis to deliver enhanced results, including from the unprecedented quantities of data derived from next generation sequencing ("NGS"). The premium tools include VarElect, the NGS phenotyper, GeneAnalytics™, a novel gene set analysis tool, and GeneALaCart, the GeneCards batch querying application. LifeMap holds the exclusive worldwide license to market GeneCards, MalaCards, VarElect and GeneAnalytics from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

LifeMap Sciences also intends to extend its offerings to the field of mobile health (mHealth) via its subsidiary, LifeMap Solutions, Inc.

About the Weizmann Institute of Science and GeneCards 

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. and M.Sc. students, and scientific, technical and administrative staff. In addition, visiting scientists and their families - over 500 from 35 countries are regularly hosted at the Institute. The Institute was founded in 1934 following a donation from Israel and Rebecca Sieff to Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a noted biochemist and biotechnologist, who envisioned the establishment of a world-class scientific research center in Israel, and later also became the first President of the State of Israel. Weizmann Institute's Feinberg Graduate School, established in 1958, has 1200 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in studies covering the Institute's five faculties: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics and Computer Science. The Institute's technology transfer arm, Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd. was the first company of its kind in Israel, and is currently one of the most successful worldwide. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment. Particular excellence in bioinformatics and systems biology is manifested, among others, in the GeneCards project, initiated in 1996, under the leadership of Prof. Doron Lancet of the Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Head of the Crown Human Genome Center. A team of 10 led by Marilyn Safran continuously innovates and keeps GeneCards as a world-top human gene compendium, automatically mining and integrating 100 worldwide web resources.

About BioTime, Inc. 

BioTime, Inc., a pioneer in regenerative medicine, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. BioTime and its subsidiaries are leveraging their industry-leading experience in pluripotent stem cell technology and a broad intellectual property portfolio to facilitate the development and use of cell-based therapies and gene marker-based molecular diagnostics for major diseases and degenerative conditions for which there presently are no cures. The lead clinical programs of BioTime and its subsidiaries include OpRegen®, currently in a Phase I/IIa trial for the treatment of the dry form of age-related macular degeneration; AST-OPC1, currently in a Phase I/IIa trial for spinal cord injuries; Renevia™, currently in a pivotal trial in Europe as an injectable matrix for the engraftment of transplanted cells to treat HIV-related lipoatrophy; and cancer diagnostics, nearing the completion of initial clinical studies for the detection of lung, bladder, and breast cancers. AST-VAC2, a cancer vaccine, is in the pre-clinical trial stage.

BioTime's subsidiaries include the publicly traded Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. , developing pluripotent stem cell-based therapies in neurology and oncology, including AST-OPC1 and AST-VAC2; Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd., developing stem cell-based therapies for retinal and neurological disorders, including OpRegen®; OncoCyte Corporation, developing cancer diagnostics; LifeMap Sciences, Inc., developing and marketing an integrated on-line database resource for biomedical and stem cell research; LifeMap Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of LifeMap Sciences, developing mobile health (mHealth) products; ES Cell International Pte Ltd, which has developed cGMP-compliant human embryonic stem cell lines that are being marketed by BioTime for research purposes under the ESI BIO branding program; OrthoCyte Corporation, developing therapies to treat orthopedic disorders, diseases, and injuries; and ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc., developing therapies to treat a variety of cardiovascular and related ischemic disorders.

For more information, please visit http://www.biotimeinc.com or connect with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Google+.

Media Contact
Hiranjith GH
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Director - Corporate Planning, Marketing & Communications
MedGenome