LifeMap Sciences, a Subsidiary of BioTime, Announces Release of GeneCards® Version 3.10
LifeMap Sciences, Inc., a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX),
announced today the release of GeneCards®, Version
3.10. The new release is available at www.genecards.org.
LifeMap Sciences holds the exclusive worldwide license to market GeneCards®
from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of
the Weizmann Institute of Science.
GeneCards® 3.10 includes several new features and
improvements, including novel unified gene pathways and a new
collaboration with Lost Island Labs’ Utopia, an innovative tool that
enables researchers to connect scientific papers in PDF form to the
dynamic world of online information. Utopia generated PDFs, currently
offered to biomedical researchers worldwide, will feature targeted deep
links to GeneCards® information via Utopia’s
customized PDF reader for published articles.
GeneCards® is a comprehensive online database that
provides concise genomic information on all known and predicted human
genes. With more than 13 million page visits per year from more than two
million unique users worldwide according to Google Analytics, GeneCards®
is accessed by professionals in more than 3,000 institutions including
academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and leading biotech and
pharma companies. GeneCards® was developed, and is
continuously enhanced, by ongoing research conducted by the
bioinformatics team at the Department of Molecular Genetics at the
Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, with principal investigator
Professor Doron Lancet, head of the Crown Human Genome Center, and team
leader Marilyn Safran.
The new GeneCards® release includes more than 113,000
gene entries, of which approximately 71,000 genes encode non-coding
RNAs. The release debuts GeneCards®’ novel unified
pathways, an enhancement which is designed to assist in resolving
redundancies and inconsistencies in gene pathway representation. For
this, a judicious clustering algorithm allows joining together, for
every gene, the relevant pathways from 11 sources into “super-pathways”,
based on gene-sets overlaps. Individual genes now portray the relevant
super-pathways and their pathway content, in addition to original
source-based lists. This enables more meaningful characterizations of a
gene via its pathway affiliation. Another important enhancement is new
integrated protein expression images, covering 23 tissues that combine
data from both MOPED and also from a new source, PaxDB. Other key
enhancements include new functional summaries incorporating expanded
information regarding embryonic development-related genes, as well as
improved representation of stem cell differentiation, all obtained from LifeMap
Discovery™, the database of embryonic development, stem-cell
research and regenerative medicine.
Most researchers utilize a single source of pathways in their gene
characterization protocols. GeneCards®’ super-pathways
represent a much more balanced view of the pathway universe,” said
Professor Doron Lancet, Ph.D., The Ralph D. and Lois R. Silver Professor
of Human Genomics, at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
“We are delighted to see the continued improvement of GeneCards®’
features and content, including expanded integration with our other
product lines, MalaCards and LifeMap DiscoveryTM,”
stated Yaron Guan-Golan, Head of Marketing at LifeMap Sciences. “We are
also looking forward to working with Lost Island Labs’ Utopia to provide
the research community improved access to GeneCards®
via elegant deep links in a wide array of scientific publications.”
About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
LifeMap Sciences’ (www.lifemapsc.com)
core technology and business is based on its integrated database suite,
the discovery platform for biomedical and stem cell research. This
platform includes GeneCards®, the leading human gene
database; LifeMap Discovery™, the database of embryonic
development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine; and MalaCards,
the human disease database. According to Google Analytics, the sites
have generated more than 2,000,000 unique visitors with more than
13,000,000 page views in the past 12 months. LifeMap Sciences also
markets PanDaTox, an innovative, recently developed, searchable
database that can aid in the discovery of new antibiotics and
biotechnologically beneficial products.
In addition to database offerings, LifeMap Sciences is BioTime’s
principal marketing subsidiary for research products, including PureStem™
human progenitor cell lines, GMP human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines, ESpan™
growth media for progenitor cell lines, and cell differentiation media
for non-therapeutic uses, via its LifeMap BioReagents™ portal.
LifeMap Sciences utilizes its databases as part of its online marketing
strategy to reach life sciences researchers at biotech and
pharmaceutical companies and at academic institutions and research
hospitals worldwide.
In a therapeutic discovery collaboration with BioTime, LifeMap’s
scientists utilize LifeMap’s proprietary platform, including LifeMap
Discovery™, its stem cell database along with the GeneCards®
and MalaCards integrated database suite, to aid in the
development of BioTime’s proprietary PureStem™ human progenitor
cell lines into products for the treatment of human diseases, especially
degenerative diseases that might be treatable with cell replacement
therapies. The LifeMap Discovery™ platform will be used to select
the progenitor cell lines that are most likely to be useful in
developing cell-based regenerative medicine therapies for a wide range
of diseases.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology
company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume
expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is enhanced
through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of application. BioTime
develops and markets research products in the fields of stem cells and
regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary PureStem™
cell lines, HyStem® hydrogels, culture media, and
differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia™ (formerly
known as HyStem®-Rx), a biocompatible,
implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in
human clinical applications. BioTime's therapeutic product development
strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on specific organ
systems and related diseases for which there is a high unmet medical
need. BioTime's majority owned subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd.
is developing therapeutic products derived from stem cells for the
treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. BioTime's
subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapeutic applications
of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and injuries. Another
subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the diagnostic and
therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer, including
the diagnostic product PanC-Dx™ currently being developed for the
detection of cancer in blood samples. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is
developing applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent
stem cell technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells
to treat cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's subsidiary
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets GeneCards®, the leading
human gene database, as part of an integrated database suite that also
includes the LifeMap Discovery™ database of embryonic
development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine, and MalaCards,
the human disease database. LifeMap Sciences also markets BioTime
research products and PanDaTox, an innovative, recently
developed, searchable database that can aid in the discovery of new
antibiotics and biotechnologically beneficial products. Asterias
Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a new subsidiary being used to acquire the stem
cell assets of Geron Corporation, including patents and other
intellectual property, biological materials, reagents and equipment for
the development of new therapeutic products for regenerative medicine.
BioTime's lead product, Hextend®, is a blood plasma
volume expander manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira,
Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corporation under exclusive
licensing agreements. Additional information about BioTime can be found
on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.
About the Weizmann Institute of Science and GeneCards
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the
world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for
its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the
Institute is home to 2,700 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. and
M.Sc. students, and scientific, technical and administrative staff. In
addition, visiting scientists and their families – over 500 from 35
countries in 2010 are regularly hosted at the Institute. The Institute
was founded in 1934 following a donation to Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a noted
biochemist and biotechnologist, who envisioned the establishment of a
world-class scientific research center in Israel, and later also became
the first President of the State of Israel. Weizmann Institute’s
Feinberg Graduate School was established in 1958, where about 1000 M.Sc.
and Ph.D. students are enrolled in studies covering the Institute’s 18
departments, which are grouped into five faculties: Biochemistry,
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics and Computer Science. The
Institute’s technology transfer arm, Yeda Research and Development Co.
was the first company of its kind in Israel, and is currently one of the
most successful worldwide. Institute research efforts include the search
for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions
in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and
the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for
protecting the environment. Particular excellence in bioinformatics and
systems biology is manifested, among others, in the GeneCards project,
initiated in 1996, under the leadership of Prof. Doron Lancet of the
Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Head of the Crown Human Genome Center. A
team of 10 led by Marilyn Safran continuously innovates and keeps
GeneCards as a world-top human gene compendium, automatically mining and
integrating 100 worldwide web resources.
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