BC Platforms Selected to Deliver Enterprise Research Platform for Qatar Biobank

The agreement supports a vision of personalized healthcare to Qatar's population and beyond

ZURICH and BOSTON, April 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BC Platforms, a world leader in genomic data management and analytics, today announced that it has formed a partnership with Qatar Biobank. 

BC Platforms will provide a Research Collaboration Management System (RCMS) and Researchers' Portal for Qatar Biobank to support the integration of genomic and phenotypic samples, enable secure and streamlined data access, and optimize resource quality and utilization.

Qatar Biobank, a member of Qatar Foundation (QF) and part of QF Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI), collects data and biological samples from the local population in an effort to develop customized medical solutions to the various diseases and health issues prevalent in the country.

Dr. Nahla Afifi, Director of Qatar Biobank, said: "As the Qatar National Research Strategy strives to improve the health and well-being of Qatar's population, scientific research collaborations enabled by Qatar Biobank are the key to impacting the future of personalised healthcare in Qatar and the region."

"We are delighted to partner with BC Platforms to access their multi-omics technology capabilities to leverage our data for research and ultimately to bring benefits to patients. Through our efforts, we will enable researchers to discover how the health and genetics of Qatar's population are affected by their lifestyle and environment."

BC Platforms has over 20 years of experience in building tertiary analytics tools enabling scalable phenotypic and genetic data exploration, applied by customers in over 25 countries. Recent developments include ontology browsing and data visualization dashboards which provide users with a visual and contextual overview of massive datasets, customizable to researchers' needs. 

Tero Silvola, CEO of BC Platforms, stated: "One of the big focus areas in technology related development work is associated with available capabilities to analyse all different types of data together. Qatar Biobank is a globally unique resource and is considered to be one of the leading personalised medicine programs globally. We are delighted to support Qatar Biobank in achieving its goals in biomedical research both regionally and globally."

Qatar Biobank has incubated Qatar Genome Programme (QGP), another member of QF and part of QF RDI, which is a national initiative aiming to map the genome of the local population. QGP uses a collection of samples and data from Qatar Biobank participants to identify genotype-phenotype associations relevant to the Qatari population.

About BC Platforms

BC Platforms is a world leader in providing powerful genomic data management and analysis solutions. Our high performing genomic data management platform enables flexible data integration, secure analysis and interpretation of molecular and clinical information. The company has launched and opened a global network of biobanks, known as BCRQUEST.COM, to provide genomic and clinical cohort data for pharmaceutical and medical research and development. BC Platforms' vision is to build the world's leading analytics platform for healthcare and industry by 2020, providing access to diverse genomic and clinical data and samples from more than 5 million subjects consolidated from a global network of biobanks.

Founded in 1997 from an MIT Whitehead project spinoff, the Company has a strong scientific heritage underpinned by over 20 years of working in close collaboration with a network of leading researchers, developers, manufacturers and vendors. BC Platforms has global operations with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, research and development in Espoo, Finland, and sales and marketing in London, Boston, and Vancouver.

For more information, please visit www.bcplatforms.com or follow us on Twitter @BCPlatforms.

About Qatar Biobank

Qatar Biobank, a long-term health initiative, was launched by Qatar to reduce the number of chronic illnesses in the population and improve the health of future generations through medical research on the causes of prevalent illnesses. This is done by gathering biological samples and information on the health and lifestyle of Qatar's people.

In the next few years, research based on the samples and information gathered by Qatar Biobank will reveal the effect of lifestyle, environment and genetics on Qatari population. It will also provide insight into the reasons why certain individuals develop specific illnesses. Qatar Biobank is a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, and works in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation.

To learn more about Qatar Biobank and how to become a contributor, please visit: www.qatarbiobank.org.qa

Contact information:

BC Platforms:
Tero Silvola
BC Platforms AG
tero.silvola@bcplatforms.com

Katja Stout
Scius Communications
katja@sciuscommunications.com