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LATCHING IT EARLY ...........
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The Nasdaq crash - Infotech sector lost 60% market cap last year, Biotech segment gained 28%.
*SIZE OF INDIA'S SOFTWARE INDUSTRY = $ 6.5 b
SIZE OF INDIA'S BIOTECH INDUSTRY = $ 2.5 b
*WORLDWIDE BIOINFORMATICS MARKET = $ 1 - 5 b
EXPECTED SIZE BY 2005 = $ 20 b
*WORLDWIDE BIOINFORMATICS GROWTH RATE = 30%
WORLDWIDE IT GROWTH RATE = 20%
Biotech companies raised a record $ 40 b worldwide in 2000!
OUTSOURCING - ADVANTAGE UNLIMITED
New technologies culturally mutate our perception of the human body from a naturally self-regulated system to an artificially controlled and electronically transformed object. A recent survey by the Indian Association of Software and Services Companies found that almost two out of five Fortune 500 companies currently outsource some of their software requirements to India. The reason behind it is simple: it saves time and money. With unlimited power to generate revenue for the organization, outsourcing is a novel strategic business tool that can solve naive problems of business process reengineering, core competencies, supplier alliances, competitive strategies and restructuring.
INTRODUCTION
Players in the life science sectors are now facing their own unique year 2k problem because of the massive amount of information that is being produced worldwide and the need to quickly access, analyze, manipulate and manage that information. The goal is to make sense of the Human Genome Project and find out not just what the human genome is, but what it does? Information is generated externally by international efforts to sequence the entire human genome and annotate it, as well as internally, by the advances that have been made in the generation of new chemical compounds, and the application of laboratory automation, especially to high throughput screening. If this information is properly analyzed and computed, it would definitely take us a long way in curing a whole lot of metabolic and genetic disorders, even conquer AIDS and cancer.
Until recently, the use of Information Technology by Biotech players and pharma company research organizations was been limited to meeting the needs of a few individual researchers. Now, significant investments will have to be made to meet the needs of a wider range of scientists, especially biologists and pharmacologists. Further, providing relevant and timely information is now a critical need to ensure research and corporate competitiveness. This will require increased investment. For many corporate pharmaceutical discovery organizations, the IT spend level will typically have to be in the range of 5-10% of total expenditures. However, even increasing to the 5% range will be challenge enough for many companies.
Total spending on IT in most industries continues to grow rapidly but satisfaction with the results is lagging. What help or advice can be given to increase the confidence of senior management that the desired results will be produced?
CHALLENGES AHEAD - WHAT WE STILL DO NOT KNOW?
* Gene number, exact locations, functions and its regulation
* DNA sequence organization
* Chromosomal structure and organization
* Non-coding DNA types, amount, distribution, information content, and functions
* Coordination of gene expression, protein synthesis and post-translational events
* Interaction of proteins in complex molecular machines
* Predicted vs experimentally determined gene function
* Evolutionary conservation among organisms
* Protein conservation (structure and function)
* Proteomes (total protein content and function) in organisms
* Correlation of SNPs with health and disease
* Disease-susceptibility prediction based on gene sequence variation
* Genes involved in complex traits and multigene diseases
THE ROADMAP
The following stages are useful for providing a road map, which helps in determining where a particular company is in its bioinformatics evolution, where it is going and the major steps required to hit the target.
Summary - Bioinformatics Evolution
Step 1, Individual Computing - This is the situation found in a small start-up company where individual computing is the practice, and every user typically has their own stand-alone system. These systems are self-administered and dedicated to individual needs, both research and administrative. Internet access will likely be limited and employ "on demand" dial-up. This is often manageable until company growth or development makes this approach problematic as a result of greater needs to share information and support the associated information technology infrastructure.
Step 2, Data Sharing - The company has grown and is implementing basic communications capabilities, which will tend to be inwardly focused, for example for internal email, as opposed to externally focused. Data sharing by diskette is still very common, and in fact this medium will still be extensively used up to step 4. Internet access may continue at the dial-up level, but ISDN service might be used. Some local "expert", perhaps someone within the company who has other regular duties, will be used to support this budding infrastructure on a part-time basis.
Step 3, Centralized Functions - A growing need for computing resource sharing, such as printers and some files, and the need to communicate externally, often for e-mail and Internet access, will require more dedicated support. This could be a designated person within the company or a local contractor. Database initiatives will be very focused to individual needs, which will tend to be the case until step 6.
Step 4, Dedicated IT Management - The need for stronger communications platforms and attempts at standardization of platforms and applications dictate the need for dedicated IT management, which will typically be 2-3 personnel. The increased complexity of the technology considerations and the pressure for applications and databases to be scalable to handle further growth in volume and scope become concerns. Overall performance, that is the productivity of personnel, especially research staff, and the performance of the systems themselves - hardware, software and communications are growing concerns.
Step 5, Computing Infrastructure Management - To address some of the step 4 concerns, a centralized facility will need to be established providing an industrial strength backbone for the computing infrastructure. Database management systems will proliferate, but will likely still address the needs of individual groups rather than the information needs of the corporation. Concerns at this stage relate more to the corporate needs as opposed to those of individuals or groups, although if the corporate needs are met, individuals and groups will benefit from a more integrated approach.
Step 6, Information Management - At the end of this step, companies now have a corporate information management strategy, with data-linked processes and management tools to streamline and control processes. Integrated databases will contain the full spectrum of data formats including, numeric experimental data and summaries, text from many sources (including reports, presentations, etc.), images of all types (still graphics of gels, microscope sections, graphs, etc.), as well as animation, video and audio. Achieving the full capabilities and advantages of this stage will likely take some time, probably measured in years, as this will be a very evolutionary process. Its progress will depend in part on the success of learning processes throughout the company.
Step 7, Knowledge Management - This is a projected, desired level, probably not yet achieved by any company, at which an organization has achieved an advanced state of learning capabilities. This stage could be reached by a medium to large company that has established integrated management of its total information requirements and is using this information for effective decision making at all levels. Effective data mining will be a major characteristic of this company.
An important observation about these stages is that the major IT focus in steps 1-4 is on applications and the associated data, particularly for individual or even, to some extent, group needs. In step 5, a transition starts to take place to a focus on the needs of the organization as a whole, which is realized in step 6 (Information Management). It is the absence of this infrastructure and sufficient and experienced supporting staff that inhibits the realization of the major benefits of the investment in IT today.
STAFFING REQUIRED
The measurement of the bioinformatics personnel resources can be divided in two broad categories :
1. What a company at each level can typically afford in terms of actual head count.
2. The pool of resources required to effectively provide all the skills needed, in terms of quality and quantity.
It is estimated that the minimal critical mass of the pool to cover all the areas of expertise required is 20-25 personnel including both the IT and life sciences disciplines, usually in a 2:1 ratio. A smaller pool is shown for step 1 and 2, which may or may not be true in any particular case. In the case of large pharmaceutical companies, critical mass may be greater as bioinformatics is typically applied to the clinical trial phase of drug development in addition to the earlier stages of drug discovery. In such cases, the balance between IT and science/application specialists may move more to roughly 1:1.
In addition to the skills required, personnel need access to the wide range of databases and tools (for scientific computation, general information processing and collaborative/groupware needs), all contained in an integrated and secure environment.
THE POWER OF OUTSOURCING
It is expected that pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will pay 6 billion to third parties in order to outsource various phases of the lengthy drug discovery, development and marketing process. A few aspects of this phenomenon have been widely publicized; most of the biotech initial public offerings in 2000 were by "platform" or "tool" companies which accelerate the drug discovery process by providing access to new technologies such as bioinformatics, proteomics, and in-silico high-throughput screening of potential drug candidates.
WHY TARGET INDIA?
Companies can get their products and services to market faster as they access well qualified and experienced resource base. Indian companies have taken a lead in establishing world class process and systems and have been successful in getting certified at the highest levels. India has been grabbing major chunks of the fast growing infotech outsourcing because of the strength and size of its IT workforce, high quality of work performed, government programmes such as STPI, tax incentives to IT private industry, highly educated IT workforce with 70,000 new graduates a year and the largest English-speaking workforce outside US. India's contribution to the global IT services market and its own economy is going to be very big in the next 10 years.
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