IO INFORMATICS & ASTRA-ZENECA Safety Information Evaluation and Visual Exploration(“SIEVE”) COLLABORATION TO BE PRESENTED AT UPCOMING CSHALS IN BOSTON, MA

Semantic Web Successfully Solves Clinical Trial Data Integration & Biometric Assessment Challenges.

BERKELEY, CA, BOSTON, MA - February 24, 2014

Robert Stanley, CEO of IO Informatics (http://www.io-informatics.com), the leader in applying Semantic technology to Healthcare and Life Sciences, announced today that IO has been asked to present the results of its collaboration with AstraZeneca (http://www.astrazeneca.com), one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world at the upcoming Conference on Semantics in Health And Life Sciences (CSHALS). CSHALS will be taking place February 26 through 28 in Boston.

“AstraZeneca (AZ) Patient Safety Science approached IO to improve retrieval of clinical trial data and biometric assessments across studies. Traditionally, evaluation of clinical trials data across studies required time-consuming and expensive manual intervention to deliver desired datasets. The project, Safety Information Evaluation and Visual Exploration (“SIEVE”), took the form of a collaboration between AZ and IO Informatics (“IO”). AZ provided the project environment, data resources, subject matter experts (“SMEs”) and business expertise. IO provided semantic software, domain experts in healthcare and life sciences, data modeling and integration services including solutions architecture, knowledge engineering and software engineering. The broad goal, supported by a number of specific use cases, was to improve search and retrieval of clinical trials data. SIEVE was to provide a web-based environment suitable for cross-study analysis,” stated Stanley.

The environment was required to align across biomarkers, statistics and bioinformatics groups. Use cases included biomarker qualification, trial design, concomitant medication analysis and support for safety and translational medicine research. The team analyzed approximately 42,000 trials records, identified by unique subjectIDs. IO’s Knowledge Explorer software was used by IO’s knowledge engineers in collaboration with AZ’s SMEs to explore the content of these records as linked RDF networks. IO created a semantic data model or “application ontology” to meet SIEVE requirements. The resulting data model and instances were harmonized by application of SPARQL-based rules and inference and were aligned with AZ standards. Data was integrated under this ontology, loaded into a semantic database and connected to IO’s “Web Query” software. The result is a web-based User Interface accessible to end users for cross-study searching, reporting, charting and sub-querying.

Stanley went on to say, “Results include reduced time to evaluate data from clinical trials and to facilitate forward looking decisions relevant to portfolios. Trial data could previously be evaluated within a study; however there was no method to analyze trials data across studies without significant manual intervention. Semantic technologies applied for data description, manipulation and linking provided mission-critical value. In light of differences discovered across resources. IO’s Knowledge Explorer applied data visualization and manipulation, application of inference and SPARQL-based rules to RDF creation. This resulted in efficient data modeling, transformation, harmonization and integration and helped assure a successful project!”

The other co-authors of the presentation are: Suzanne Tracy (AstraZeneca), Stephen Furlong (AstraZeneca), Peter Bogetti (AstraZeneca), Michael Goodman (AstraZeneca) and Jason Eshleman (IO Informatics)

CSHALS: February 26 - 28, 2014 in Boston, MA: http://www.iscb.org/cshals2014

ABOUT IO INFORMATICS

IO is at the forefront of the semantic technology wave. The Company provides software and services for uniquely efficient data integration and transformative knowledge applications in life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical environments.

For more information visit: http://www.io-informatics.com

CONTACT

Robert A. Stanley
President and CEO, IO Informatics, Inc.
T 510-705-8470
E rstanley@io-informatics.com

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