SAN FRANCISCO, CA—August 19, 2009—The J. David Gladstone Institutes announced a collaboration with Alitora Systems to develop software technology that facilitates organizational collaboration and enables rapid acceleration of the discovery and evaluation of new drugs. Alitora Systems uses semantic technology to search document and database information in a single collaborative innovation network. The Gladstone collaboration will assist in enhancing Alitora's product offerings for biotechnology and pharmaceutical discovery and development.
“Meaning-based search technologies reveal valuable, closely related information which is not easily found through regular search or collaborative strategies,” said Alitora CEO Peter Berger. “We hope to bring relevant data to the forefront for researchers and decision-makers who are best positioned to use this information to accelerate development.”
Unlike traditional search technology, Alitora finds information based on relevant meaning, not just keywords. This can reveal new information from previously published work and contribute to progress in current research studies.
“Throw-away data in one area of research, may be a critical factor in another,” said Bruce Conklin, MD, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease. “These tools can be used to find intersections in science that can significantly improve the pace of discovery.”
With the current cost of developing a successful drug estimated at $1.2 billion, both Gladstone and Alitora hope to contribute to the current drive to bring down the cost of healthcare and find more effective treatments for disease.
“Inside companies as well as out in the scientific world, there is a wealth of research information that begs to be applied to a particular project,” Berger said. “The key is to use meaning to connect the right data with the right people. Helping them find something they donít already know.”
Gladstone and Alitora's collaboration will be ongoing. As part of the collaboration, Dr. Conklin will join Alitora Systems as a member of its Advisory Board to serve along with former officers of Pfizer and Scios. Alex Pico a Gladstone bioinformatics software engineer, plans to join Alitora as its Chief Science Officer where he will be a valuable contributor to the evolution of Alitora Systems' offerings.
About the Gladstone Institutes
The J. David Gladstone Institutes, an independent, non-profit biomedical research organization affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is dedicated to the health and welfare of humankind through research into the causes and prevention of some of the world's most devastating diseases. Gladstone is comprised of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease.
About Alitora Systems
Alitora Systems, Inc., a software company, founded in 2006, creates software that semantically integrates research, literature, patent and other data for the Pharmaceutical and Biotech Companies that enables seamless search, collaboration, and integration of web applications. More information can be found at www.alitora.com.