IDBS has expanded its business in the US state of Massachusetts with the opening of its Healthcare Center of Excellence. In July 2011, the company announced that its Burlington office would become its US Healthcare Headquarters and that the facility would be expanded to include a new Healthcare Center of Excellence. These events stemmed from a meeting between UK-based IDBS, Governor Deval Patrick (pictured), the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and other Massachusetts officials at last year’s BIO International Convention in Washington DC.
At the opening, Chris Molloy, IDBS VP of business development, introduced Governor Patrick who spoke to the role of companies, such as IDBS, in strengthening Massachusetts’ innovation economy. Governor Patrick was shown the advanced technologies the company has developed that combine clinical and genomic data to improve medical research treatment outcomes. These systems are already in use in local centres such as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as other national and international hubs. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center was represented by Melissa Walsh, chief operating officer.
Also participating in the ribbon-cutting were Massachusetts State Representative Charles Murphy, Massachusetts State Senator Kenneth Donnelly, Massachusetts Office for International Trade and Investment executive director Ken Brown, and UK deputy consul Anne Avidon. The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by a wide range of IDBS customers and analysts across biotechnology, pharmaceutical and healthcare research.
The IDBS Healthcare Unit is dedicated to the advancement of personalised medicines and improved patient outcomes through the delivery of translational medicine and biomarker research informatics that bridge the worlds of clinical, molecular and image data. Commenting on the new Center, IDBS’ founder and CEO Neil Kipling said: ‘Massachusetts provides a fertile environment for our investment in personalised medicine informatics. The need to harness the power of genetics to support decision making in a clinical environment has never been greater. From our new Healthcare Center of Excellence in Massachusetts, we are uniting diagnostics, pharmaceutical, academic centres and now hospital environments to create a collaborative genomically-centred ecosystem focused on improving patient care and better research through collaboration.’
Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, added: ‘Massachusetts is a centre for innovation in science and technology, and IDBS’ decision to expand here attests to the strength of our life sciences workforce and the opportunities to partner with leading companies and academic institutions. We will continue to reach out to outstanding life sciences companies around the world and invite them to locate and expand in Massachusetts. They strengthen our life sciences cluster with their presence.’
