Top 10 Stories Of 2017: CRISPR, Best Practices, And More
December 27, 2017 | It’s been a big year for the biotech industry. Developments in next generation sequencing, biomedical research, and drug discovery have led to a fantastic year of product announcements, recognition for best practices, and thoughtful discussions. As we head into 2018, we at Bio-IT World would like to take a moment and reflect on the groundbreaking achievements from this past year. In that spirit, here are the top 10 stories of 2017, ranked in order of popularity.
--The Editors
1. Illumina Launches NovaSeq Sequencers, Aiming To Replace 1900 Sequencers
Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Francis deSouza, President and CEO of Illumina, unveiled the NovaSeq series, a new and scalable sequencing architecture, comprised of two instruments: the NovaSeq 5000 and NovaSeq 6000. Read more
2. Interference: A CRISPR Patent Dispute Roadmap
An epic CRISPR litigation battle between a host of universities has erupted involving CRISPR/Cas9, which can have major implications for the gene-editing technology community. Read more
3. How Blockchain Is Helping Genomics Research
John Mattison predicts that blockchain, "is going to be the most disruptive technology in this space other than big-data analytics." Read more
4. How the World's Governments Have Regulated Human Genome Editing
Members of McGill University’s Centre of Genomics and Policy published a global survey of restrictions on modifying the human genome, concluding that many regulations are vague and that bans or limitations often relax over time. Read more
5. Renewed Attention Sees New Progress For Hepatitis B
The HBV field has seen increased attention from industry research in the past few years, influenced by the success of new hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapies. After scientists realized HCV could be cured, they turned their attention to hepatitis B, hoping to develop a cure for it also. Read more
6. Bio-IT World Announces 2017 Best Practices Awards Winners
Bio-IT World announced the winners of the 2017 Best Practices Awards at the Bio-IT World Conference and Expo. Entries from Maccabi Healthcare System, Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, Allotrope Foundation, Earlham Institute, Biomedical Imaging Research Services Section (BIRSS), and Alexion Pharmaceuticals were honored. Read more
7. The State Of CRISPR/Cas9: Patents And Possibilities
A lot has been happening in the CRISPR playing field. The Charpentier/Broad Institute lawsuit over CRISPR/Cas9 patent claims allows insight into the potential of this technology. Read more
8. Celgene’s Big Data IQ
In recent years, Celgene has been doubling down on its information analytics capabilities, and in January it launched an internal big data platform to more cohesively manage data to drive decision-making from pre-clinical research through commercialization. Read more
9. Beyond CRISPR Cuts: Five Complements To Cas9
With the dominance of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology dominating headlines and genomics laboratories, gene therapy researchers are seeking new discoveries in gene-editing as relevant and useful alternatives to CRISPR. Read more
10. CRISPR Tech Heralds Hype, Hope, and Hurdles for Gene-Based Therapeutics, or: How to Cure Cancer and AIDS with This One Weird Trick
The age of CRISPR has heralded in new lines of business based on cutting-edge, gene-editing technologies. Here are a few of the highlights of CRISPR's impact on the industry. Read more
