{"475461":{"#nid":"475461","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Intellimedix Takes Innovation Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDeveloping new, life-saving treatments isn\u2019t cheap or fast \u2013 on average, it costs more than $1 billion and takes 15 years to take a drug to market. It\u2019s time that some people simply don\u2019t have. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBut a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology is working to streamline the process of getting good medicine to people who need it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe lab of Jeffrey Skolnick, faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, has spent years developing algorithms to identify new therapeutic uses for existing drugs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe technology is promising enough to have earned an Intel Innovation Award. Skolnick, a computational biologist, is chief science officer of Intellimedix, the company that deployed his lab\u2019s technology and took home the award recently at the Health IT Leadership Summit in Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe see the award as recognizing the potential of the technology we\u2019ve been developing,\u201d says Skolnick, professor in the School of Biology and director of the Center for the Study of Systems Biology. \u201cImagine if one could use repurposed drugs to treat a disease, especially an intractable disease that leaves a patient with very few options.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ECreated in 2010 by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Association of Georgia, the Health IT Leadership Summit annually brings together leaders from across the healthcare continuum to discuss how the industry can drive innovation to improve healthcare delivery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIntellimedix was founded several years ago by two fathers who had become frustrated with the lack of treatments available for their children (who have a rare form of childhood epilepsy called Dravet syndrome). They met with Skolnick, whose technology, he says, \u201cwas ready for prime time testing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ERecognizing that there was a lack of personalized medicine or effective treatments for a wide range of human diseases, they built a company around the Skolnick lab\u2019s systems biology algorithms.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ENow, the early-stage company is looking to make an impact in the world of precision medicine, thanks to the advances that have been made in the science of human genomics and computer processing speed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe company\u2019s core strategy is to use its technology to efficiently screen and validate large numbers of compounds against molecular\/genetic targets known to cause a given disease \u2013 such as Dravet syndrome, something Intellimedix is working on, using zebrafish as an \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E tool.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIntellimedix also uses its gene sequencing capabilities and high-throughput drug screening to provide precision medicine services to patients. They start by sequencing a patient\u2019s genome, to identify disease-causing genes, as well as any genes modifying the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe live in the age of the cheap genomic sequence,\u201d says Skolnick. \u201cActually, getting the sequencing done is cheaper than a lot of blood tests now. Of course, it\u2019s like getting a parts list without an instruction manual.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo, while your sequence might show 8,000 variants, about 95 to 99 percent of them will probably have no impact. Intellimedix uses its technology to narrow down the number.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe have the ability to prioritize and identify a much smaller set of targets, which might be causative of certain types of disease,\u201d Skolnick says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAfter identifying suspicious genes, Intellimedix finds compounds that will bind to them, which can help determine the most efficacious treatment option with least side effects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIntellimedix is looking to run clinical trials in humans based on its research into Dravet syndrome, and according to Skolnick, the company is in discussions with a major cancer treatment center for the possibility of using the technology in an effort to develop novel treatments for pancreatic cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESkolnick, who came to Georgia Tech in 2006, says his team\u2019s discoveries could not have been made without a supportive, multi-disciplinary environment, and a large computer cluster.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe result, after almost 10 years of work, is \u201ca general toolkit,\u201d Skolnick says. \u201cBut it could have a transformative impact.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Technology from Skolnick lab driving company focus on precision medicine"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ETechnology from Skolnick lab driving company focus on precision medicine\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Technology from Skolnick lab driving company focus on precision medicine"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-12-02 17:40:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:12","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-12-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-12-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"475451":{"id":"475451","type":"image","title":"Jeffrey Skolnick","body":null,"created":"1449257215","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:26:55","changed":"1475895225","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:45","alt":"Jeffrey Skolnick","file":{"fid":"99275","name":"jeffskolnick2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jeffskolnick2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jeffskolnick2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1929959,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jeffskolnick2_0.jpg?itok=-axN04eX"}}},"media_ids":["475451"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"171511","name":"repositioned drugs"},{"id":"171512","name":"repurposed drugs"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}