Wednesday, October 03, 2001

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"Bye bye, bioinformatics. Adieu, proteomics. Hello, chemical genomics!"

"That's the message from a growing number of biotechnology venture capitalists who are quietly shifting their investment emphasis to so-called chemical genomics in the everlasting search for a quicker, more efficient drug discovery process."

redux [08.09.01]
EyeForPharma Gartner predicts Pharma's IT spending on the rise

"In a recent forecast analysis, Gartner predicts U.S. pharmaceutical companies' IT spending will increase at a CAGR (calculated annual growth rate) of 12.8 percent - from $3 billion in 2000 to more than $5.5 billion by 2005. The group forecasts spending on software and external services will outpace spending for hardware, network equipment and internal services."

"The report stresses as advances in genomics and proteomics facilitate a move toward more personalized medicine, the drivers to IT spending will become even stronger as companies attempt to:

• Rationalize therapeutic areas and compounds, as well as the sub-populations they address,
• Store and integrate clinical data with research data,
• Educate physicians about expanding product lines,
• Solicit patients to participate in targeted clinical trials, and
• Manage an increasing number of trials.

In order to address these challenges, Gartner believes IT vendors that compete in this space must develop a business process focus, rather than marketing their products on the basis of functionality. "To win those large contracts, a vendor must align its marketing message with the key corporate business issues and target an executive who will likely sponsor the project and win additional funding for the project outside those monies allocated to the general IT budget.""

redux [07.16.01]
New Jersey Online Despite hoopla, genetic information firms far from profitability

"A year after the deciphering of the human genome boggled the world, investors are realizing that manipulating genes to fight disease is still in its infancy -- and far from profitable."

Nowhere is that more clear than in the industry for genetic information, or bioinformatics."

redux [06.01.01]
GenomeWeb Software Vendors Hungry for a Piece of the Burgeoning Bioinformatics Consulting Market

"Justin Saeks, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan, sees plenty of room for new players in the consulting market. "I think there is definitely a demand for this," said Saeks, "Maybe equal to or more than the software sales, depending on whether you include hardware with IT consulting."

A Frost & Sullivan study conducted for IBM predicted that life sciences companies would spend nearly $6.5 billion on IT services by 2004.

One reason for the surge of interest in the field is the maturation of data-generating technology, which has left biotech and pharma clients "struggling with the rate of change and the degree of integration on their shoulders," said Bob White, vice president of Accelrys' worldwide sales and consulting division."

redux [03.14.01]
ABCNews.Com The Next Bubble: Is Bioinformatics the Next Big Boom...and Bust?

"The story proclaimed in its lead, "Move over Information Age. Make room for the age of bioinformation." You could picture bleary eyes opening all over the Bay Area. The story went on to note that a San Jose consulting firm was predicting a 10 percent annual growth in the bioinformatics market for years to come; and that the National Science Foundation estimated that 20,000 new jobs in the field would be created in the field in just the next four years.

If that wasn't enough, the rest of the section was filled with page after page of biotech firms listing job openings - in powerful juxtaposition to the endless lists of dot-com layoffs just a few pages earlier. Picture Starbucks spit-takes from Marin to Santa Cruz.

Wow! Rewrite that resumé to emphasize that biology course you took in college. Roll your Aeron chair down to the nearest lab. Trade that black turtleneck for a white lab coat..."