IBM thinks that the life sciences industry, where it has had little presence to date, is now big enough and ripe enough to be worth pursuing. It aims to get in at the start of the value chain via bioinformatics. The computing giant has bigger plans than smaller players that moved earlier to focus on bioinformatics-and it has the means to see them through. Pioneers got stuck doing fee-for-service work, but IBM can sell Big Pharmas hardware, software and most importantly, all sorts of services. IBM's debut product in life sciences is DiscoveryLink, which lets data from disparate sources be queried as though they were all in one, giant database. It's also meant to broadly support software created by specialized applications developers. Installations will have to be custom jobs-ideally, part of bigger IT contracts. Other computing concerns also perceive opportunity in life sciences; indeed it's clear a battle is brewing between big hardware suppliers. But they're cooperating to a degree: calling for data standards, so they can compete on products not technology. IBM has credibility from other sectors, but it's uncertain how applicable it expertise will be in life sciences, even if it can find and train enough people. Also unclear: whether drugmakers actually want and will pay big money for integrated solutions. Though a newcomer to life sciences, IBM may be uniquely suited to serve the industry-not only because of its own deep and ongoing research into computational biology, but because it can offer drugmakers one-stop shopping.
by Deborah Erickson
In 1996, in a move that surprised many people in the pharmaceutical industry, International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) acquired The Wilkerson...
Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on In Vivo for daily insights
Already a subscriber?
A look at Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and other companies' late-stage clinical studies of GLP-1 drugs in indications ranging from neurodegeneration to oncology, and alcoholic liver disease to autoimmune conditions.
Metsera CEO Whit Bernard applies an unconventional leadership philosophy to develop next-generation obesity therapeutics, including monthly GLP-1 injections and oral peptides.
A Q&A with DeAnn Smith, partner and co-chair of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings Practice Group at law firm Foley Hoag.
Advanced AI is revolutionizing sales enablement by addressing training gaps and performance challenges. Used correctly, it can help to bridge the sales-marketing divide, accelerate ramp-up times and provide managers with data-driven insights.
Annual survey of patients and professionals shows how attitudes to health system transformation are evolving and what stakeholders are demanding as acceptance of AI tools accelerates.
BioWales in London 2025 showcased the efforts healthtech innovators are making to meet investors on their own turf, illustrating changing attitudes and evolving needs.
Metsera CEO Whit Bernard applies an unconventional leadership philosophy to develop next-generation obesity therapeutics, including monthly GLP-1 injections and oral peptides.
