Utah medical firms, Huntsman Cancer Institute and LineaGen linking up with IBM

A medical information system that one day could help a doctor pick the right asthma medication based on a patient’s DNA also could allow researchers to learn which genes make people more susceptible to colon cancer.

The University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute and LineaGen, a nonprofit Utah biotechnology company, on Wednesday announced they are collaborating with IBM to create technology that could assist front-line physicians as well as laboratory researchers.

Under the agreement, the Huntsman Cancer Institute and LineaGen will provide the medical data, while IBM will provide systems to access the information.

The project in part aims to continue the trend toward personalized medicine, said Stephen Prescott, Huntsman Cancer Institute executive director and LineaGen president. Most treatments now are based on how the average patient should respond, but new knowledge about genes makes it possible to customize and individualize medical care, he said.

By Greg Lavine
The Salt Lake Tribune

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