Strand Genomics, a global life sciences informatics company and MediBIC (TSE: 2369), a Japanese pharmacogenomics and pharmaceutical consulting firm have entered into a business collaboration to provide bioinformatics and data mining solutions in Japan.

Under the terms of the agreement, MediBIC and Strand will jointly develop products and technologies for their drug discovery and development customers. They will offer products along with customization services, and provide consulting in the areas of genomics, proteomics, clinical studies, predictive ADME/Toxicology, and other pharmaceutical R&D areas.

"The two companies have the potential to deliver great value to the biopharmaceutical industry," said Dr. Vijay Chandru, CEO, Strand Genomics.

"MediBIC's objective is to strengthen its informatics and pharmacogenomics capabilities through key strategic partnerships," said Dr. Hashimoto, president and CEO, MediBIC. "This partnership provides us with the platform to offer an integrated discovery and development system. Strand has a strong core capability in applying advanced mathematical solutions to solving life science data analysis problems, and is recognized as a leader in developing in-silico tools. The combined effort of both companies can position us to offer a truly in-silico platform for the entire drug development pipeline," he added.

MediBIC was founded in 2000 with the aim of helping the Japanese pharmaceutical industry to improve its drug development efficiency through strategic integration of technologies. The company has diversified into providing custom informatics solutions and partnering with other technology providers to form an in-silico virtual discovery pipeline.