Feature

Friday, November 11, 2011

Vanderbilt University Partners With Celera Genomics to Further Basic Science Research

    NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 7 -- Vanderbilt University today became
the first academic institution to partner with Celera Genomics for access to
the company's vast library of genomic data.
    The information, previously available only to industrial subscribers,
promises to advance the development of new therapeutic and diagnostic tools
and to facilitate basic biomedical research.
    Celera announced earlier this month that it has completed the sequencing
phase of one person's genome and expects to assemble the sequenced fragments
into their proper order within six weeks.
    The agreement between Vanderbilt University and Celera is designed to
protect academic freedom, ensuring that Vanderbilt's own inventions and
discoveries can be used in furtherance of patient care and treatment.
    Under the agreement, Vanderbilt can: publish and present its research
results, develop intellectual property on its discoveries, use Celera
information in filing or prosecuting patent applications and maintaining
patents, and use Celera information in filing and maintaining regulatory
applications and approvals.
    Vanderbilt will be the first academic medical center to sign such an
agreement.
    Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
    "We are extremely pleased to be at the leading edge of efforts to harness
the potential of these data," said Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for
Health Affairs. "We believe this will be a powerful tool in the ongoing quest
to expand our base of scientific knowledge and apply it to discovering new
ways to combat illness."
    J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Celera's president and chief scientific officer,
agrees.
    "It is very fitting that our first academic database subscription is with
a premier medical and research institution such as Vanderbilt. We firmly
believe that researchers everywhere should have access to our genomic database
information and now with the launch of our web-based science discovery system,
we have made it easier to do so," Venter said.
    Celera Genomics is an information company whose goal is to make the
ever-increasing volumes of biological information more accessible and useful
to researchers. It is creating an unparalleled library of genomic information
in databases, which include the human genome, genetic variations in the human
genome, the mouse genome, and the recently completed Drosophila (fruit fly)
genome.
    The agreement with Vanderbilt provides a comprehensive subscription to
some of Celera's current database products. In conjunction with the agreement,
Celera unveiled its Science Discovery System on the World Wide Web, for
academic and biotechnology users to access Celera's database information.
    Celera's databases include both sequence information and annotation -- the
identification of genes and description of their functions. Subscribers are
able to log into Celera's supercomputing facility, the third largest in the
world, to access the databases and bioinformatics tools for viewing, browsing,
and analyzing the genomic information.
    "Vanderbilt's basic science departments are routinely ranked in the top
ten in the nation year after year. Through continuing investments like this
acquisition of genomic data and tools, we think we can provide a foundation
for even more rapid growth," said Vanderbilt Chancellor, Joe B. Wyatt.