Innovations in Bioinformatics: Emerging tools for drug discovery and development

Report overview
R&D laboratories are co-ordinating the analysis of increasing volumes of disparate biological data, largely comprised of gene and protein sequences. Bioinformatics-enabled data management has enabled companies to improve productivity within their R&D programmes by identifying new drug targets, diagnostic biomarkers and biomarkers of drug efficacy and toxicity. From a systems biology approach, bioinformatics combine data into interactive models to highlight disease pathways and aid the discovery of on/off-target effects of compounds. Knowledge management solutions are crucial in both instances, enabling project teams to make informed decisions about potential new drugs. ‘Innovations in Bioinformatics’ is a new report published by Business Insights that provides a detailed analysis of bioinformatic developments and applications. This report examines the bioinformatic tools used to manage high-throughput data from omic technologies, systems biology modelling and biomarker discovery. Knowledge management solutions are reviewed and the provisions of major bioinformatics contributors are highlighted. This report also provides forecasts for bioinformatic tools and services to 2011.

Key findings...

• The bioinformatics market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 23% to $4.5bn by 2011, from a value of $1.6bn in 2006. The US led the geographical market with a share of 45% in 2006, but Europe’s CAGR of 24.6% will narrow the gap over the forecast period.
• Bioinformatics-enabled protein biomarker discovery will enable the development of safer and more effective drugs, targeted therapies and molecular diagnostics.
• Systems biology modelling is forecast to grow at a rate of 35% over the next five years, the highest growth of any bioinformatics sector. The potential for widespread integration throughout all stages of drug discovery will act as a catalyst for this expansion.
• Knowledge management is currently the leading bioinformatics market segment. This lead will be strengthened by mass adoption of Semantic Web technology and the increasing availability of software through the internet.
• Software for next-generation sequencing has vastly reduced time and cost constraints of DNA-sequencing. The miniaturization of reactions has increased their quality and density, subsequently lowering per-reaction costs.

Key questions answered
• What are the major segments of the bioinformatics market?
• How can bioinformatics tools be used in genomics/proteomics?
• How is enterprise knowledge managed and how are the contributions of modelling providers changing?
• What are the services and strategies of key companies in the fields of knowledge management, systems biology and high-throughput genotyping?
• Which segments are forecast to dominate the bioinformatics market in 2011?
• How are these dominant segments likely to evolve?

Key issues examined by this report
• R&D improvements. Emerging bioinformatics tools that promise to improve productivity in drug R&D are creating new opportunities for pharma companies, as pressure from declining pipelines and patent protection expiries continues to mount.
• Data efficiencies. Bioinformatics solutions enable users to manage and interpret research data far more effectively than by attempting to traverse the deluge of heterogeneous data provided by omics technologies.
• Compound failures. The use of bioinformatics tools can help to detect potential toxicity earlier in the drug discovery and development process, drastically reducing toxicity and safety related compound failures during full clinical development.
• Impact of biomarkers. The utility of bioinformatics in biomarker discovery and validation has made them integral to the new, cost effective model of drug discovery and development which emphasises the use of biomarkers throughout the process.
• Internet dominance. As growing numbers of knowledge management solutions leverage open web standards, the internet is set to become the dominant bioinformatics platform and broad adoption of Semantic Web technology is anticipated.

Publication: 39448
Library Code: rbdd0020
Type: Report
Format: PDF
Pages: 253