IBM invests in Pathway Genomics to personalize consumer health

November 12, 2014 (Reposted). Cognitive apps in the market today continue to change the way professionals and consumers make decisions. To help accelerate this transformation, the IBM Watson Group today announced an investment in Pathway Genomics Corp., a clinical laboratory that offers genetic testing services globally, to help deliver the first-ever cognitive consumer-facing app based on genetics from a user’s personal makeup.

The investment brings Pathway Genomics’ funding in the last six years to more than $80 million, making it one of the industry’s best capitalized start-up healthcare companies. In October, Pathway Genomics was included in Inc. magazine’s Coolest Products of the Inc. 500. Its genetic test was ranked in the top 12 products from 5000 companies across the nation.

According to Allied Market Research, the bioinformatics market, which includes genomic medicine, is expected to grow to $12.86 billion by 2020. However, very few consumers have access or can benefit from personalized wellness-related recommendations that are tailored to their individual needs.

IBM and Pathway Genomics are aiming to revolutionize the health and wellness industry by leveraging the natural-language processing and cognitive capabilities of Watson. For the first time consumers will be able to “Ask Watson” to gain insights and recommendations, infused with the cognitive intellect of Watson, based on their own genes, wearable data, and other related wellness information, like emotional, physical, and social wellbeing.

The new mobile app, Pathway Panorama, will call upon Watson’s unique ability to uncover insights from Big Data by understanding the complexities of human language, referencing millions of pages of healthcare data from medical journals and clinic trial data within seconds. The data will be combined with information about the individual’s lifestyle and biomarker data to make personalized recommendations to help the user live a healthier life. Panorama will also routinely monitor a user’s health and wellness information and ping the user with any new relevant recommendations.

For example, a consumer can ask the Pathway Panorama app questions based on her or his DNA, like “How much exercise should I do today?” or “How much coffee can I drink on Monday?” The cognitive app answers and provides guidance based on the millions of healthcare-related evidence-based data ingested by Watson and on the individual’s biomarker, vital signs (wearables), DNA, electronic health records, and other information.

“The medical industry is undergoing a dramatic and systemic change, putting the consumer more in charge of their own healthcare. Giving the consumers access to a powerful tool built upon cognitive learning and Watson will make the change even more transformative,” said Michael Nova, M.D., chief medical officer, Pathway Genomics, a and member of the Watson advisory board. “Working with the IBM Watson team, we were able to quickly create a working demo of our wellness app with the most powerful cognitive computer in the market today.”

“By tapping into IBM Watson’s cognitive intellect, Pathway Genomics is allowing consumers to ask health and wellness related questions, in their own words and receive personalized and relevant responses,” said Stephen Gold, vice president, IBM Watson Group. “Cognitive computing solutions based on Watson’s transformative technology will help define how consumers and businesses alike make better informed decisions, delivering better outcomes.”

In January, the Watson Group announced to advance new cognitive computing capabilities. IBM is investing $100 million to spur innovation for entrepreneurial organizations—ranging from start-ups and VC-backed companies to established players—who, like Pathway Genomics, are collectively bringing forward a new generation of apps and solutions infused with Watson’s cognitive computing intelligence.

IBM Watson represents a new era of computing in which apps and systems interact with human users more naturally, augment our knowledge with Big Data insights, and learn to improve how they assist us.

Fueled by innovation from a mission to transform industries and professions, Watson is uniquely positioned at the forefront of the new era of computing, evidenced by an unmatched demonstration of what cognitive systems can bring to transform decision-making. IBM is delivering a range of cloud-based products and services to clients in industries such as banking, healthcare, insurance, retail, and education.

IBM is investing $1 billion into the Watson Group, focusing on development and research and bringing cloud-delivered cognitive applications and services to market. This includes $100 million available for venture investments to support IBM’s ecosystem of startups and businesses building cognitive apps made with Watson.

www.ibmwatson.com