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 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 to gather insights into the genetics of cancers."