Jul 18, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Innovative use of crowdsourcing allows pathologists and genetic scientists to create a sizeable database of BRCA mutations that is accessible to clinicians and patients
There’s a new development in the longstanding battle over proprietary healthcare data versus public sharing of such information. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be interested to learn that, when it comes to genetic testing of the BRCA mutation involved in breast cancer, a public data base of mutations is growing so rapidly that it may become the world’s largest repository of such information.
It was last year when the Supreme Court ruled in the gene patent case of Association of Molecular Pathology versus Myriad Genetics that human genes were not patentable. Following that decision, some financial analysts stated that Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN) retained a competitive advantage over other medical laboratories due to its huge database of mutations in the BRCA genes. (See Dark Daily, “Supreme Court Strikes down Myriad Gene Patents in Unanimous Vote; Decision Is Expected to Benefit Clinical Pathology Laboratories,” July 1, 2013.) (more…)
Jun 30, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
This joint research effort will initiate a new field of clinical laboratory diagnostic tests that target the human microbiome
Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine is about to commence clinical trials utilizing innovative clinical laboratory tests that target the human microbiome. Women’s health is the initial focus for these clinical studies.
Mayo Clinic is collaborating with San Francisco-based Whole Biome, Inc., to conduct these clinical trials. Whole Biome developed the diagnostic tests to be used in the clinical study. (more…)
Mar 5, 2014 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Pathology groups and clinical laboratories are among the beneficiaries if the Accelerating Medicines Partnership achieves its goals
Power players in healthcare are about to invest nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to accelerate the time it takes for new medical discoveries to gain regulatory approval and enter clinical use. The emphasis will be on both therapeutic drugs and diagnostics, making this an important development for in vitro diagnostics companies and medical laboratories.
Anchors to this new initiative are the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Their partners are 10 pharmaceutical companies and six nonprofit groups. The goal is to jumpstart research to find targets for new drugs and diagnostics, noted a Genomeweb.com article. (more…)
Jan 17, 2014 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Goal is to apply differential equations with pharmacogenomics to better predict a patient’s response to prescription drugs, a development that could create role for pathologists to help clinicians interpret the data from such medical lab testing
New approaches to mathematical modeling are poised to transform pharmaceutical drug research and development—and create new opportunities in clinical laboratory testing down the road. U.S. and Chinese scientists have developed statistical models that more accurately simulate a drug’s reaction in a patient.
Using differential equations, these researchers seek to integrate mathematical modeling of drug reactions into pharmacogenomics. Their goal is to better predict interpersonal differences in drug response based on genetic information. This will help clinicians to develop a strategy for personalized drug delivery. (more…)
Dec 30, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
New insights about personal genomes will give pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists different ways to use genetic tests in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of disease
Here is a human genome curve ball for pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists engaged in genetic testing in their medical laboratories. New research indicates that a larger number of humans than was once believed may have more than one genome. This has implications for many medical and health issues.
Until recently, scientists assumed that, as a rule, each individual had a unique genome. Conditions such as mosaicism and chimerism were considered a rarity.
Greater Incidence of Multiple Genomes in a Single Individual (more…)
