IBM ($IBM) has paired Edico Genome’s Dragen bio-IT processor with its high-performance computing (HPC) system. The combination of technologies is intended to slash the time it takes for users of IBM Power Systems S822LC for HPC to complete variant calling analysis.
Edico, which has made its name with data showing Dragen can dramatically cut genomics timelines, has run internal tests to demonstrate the potential for its bio-IT processor to help IBM’s customers. It took Edico 18 minutes to perform variant calling analysis when Accelerated GATK, its deployment of the Broad Institute's Genome Analysis Toolkit, was run on the IBM system. In the past, this process has taken approximately 30 hours, according to Edico.
The time saving is expected to help medical centers, clinical laboratories and research institutions generate insights within a timeframe that fits in with their operations. “Providing Dragen on IBM Power Systems offers both existing IBM customers and additional hospitals and academic centers seeking to build a genomics infrastructure with a rapid, accurate and easily integrated analysis solution,” Edico CEO Pieter van Rooyen said in a statement.
For Edico, the hook-up with IBM gives it another way to get its processor on to the market. Since selling its first processor to Sequenom ($SQNM) in 2014, Edico has done business with PerkinElmer ($PKI) and Macrogen, while also striking tech collaborations. IBM joins Intel ($INTC) on Edico’s list of allies. The deals are evidence of the demand for technologies that can lessen the impact of the data analysis bottleneck on genomics timelines.
IBM sees such time savings as helping it to expand its presence in healthcare and research, which have become major areas of focus and investment for the company. While Watson is the focal point of the health expansion, IBM has also rolled out technologies such as S822LC, a HPC system designed to meet the processing power requirements of life science companies.
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