Earlier in June, a Scottish consortium of NHS Tayside and Lothian boards, Dundee and Edinburgh Universities and Aridhia Informatics were awarded a prestigious funding injection from the Technology Strategy Board in a turning point in the development of personalised medicine for cancer in the UK

The project (DECIPHER) aims to accelerate tailoring therapy to patients by linking the molecular signature of different cancers to clinical characteristics, so the right medicine can be selected for the right patients at the right dose, to ensure the best response to treatment with reduced risk of side effects.)

The consortium won substantial funding from the Stratified Medicine Innovation Platform (SMIP), an initiative managed by the Technology Strategy Board, which is overseeing an investment of over £50m of government funding in innovative R&D

It will develop a unique electronic data handling system combining tumour profiling and data capture to improve cancer care, a project which addresses a Technology Strategy Board funded competition designed to support R&D into personalised medicine.

Anticipating an increased focus on stratified medicine in coming years,  Aridhia and Glencoe will work together to create products for the international healthcare, life and biomedical science markets using real-world clinical, genetic and research information.

Aridhia's specialist capabilities is in accessing, storing and analysing healthcare information and will be brought together with Glencoe's expertise in managing, sharing & publishing large scientific datasets generated in laboratories around the world.

As part of the agreement, Scottish company Aridhia will make a major investment in Seattle-based Glencoe to further accelerate its already-rapid growth in these areas. Not surprisingly both Glencoe Software and Aridhia Informatics are both start-ups based on technology and expertise developed at the University of Dundee.

Professor Andrew Morris, director of the Medical Research Institute at the University of Dundee, and co-founder of Aridhia Informatics, said: "This partnership brings together complementary strengths needed to accelerate the innovation of stratified - or personalised - medicines.

"Our vision is to become a world leader in providing the clinical and scientific information required for the personalised, targeted drugs and treatments of the future. The UK is a good place to do this work because of the opportunities for open innovation between NHS, academic and commercial partners."

Professor Jason Swedlow, President of Glencoe Software, Inc, and co-founder of OME, said: "OME and Glencoe Software are particularly excited about this partnership. We look forward to working with the Aridhia Informatics team to develop new tools for the life sciences and clinical data markets. The challenge is huge, but the potential benefit for biomedical research and patient outcomes is enormous."

The deal brings together Aridhia's capabilities in accessing, storing, and analyzing healthcare information and Glencoe's expertise in managing, sharing, and publishing large scientific datasets.