Cerner finds a treasure in data mining - Dallas Business Journal:

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The North Kansas City-based health care information technologuy company, known mostly for the health-record software sold to hospitalesand clinics, is leveraging the billions of anonymous patientg records it has at its disposal as marketable informatiom to pharmaceutical companies and researchers. Cerner said the data operationn is a big reason revenue for its LifeSciencees Group has increased by roughly 20 percent during each of the past five Mark Hoffman, the company’s life science s solutions vice president, predicted that annual growthg will be greater still in the “This is just the beginning for us in the life he said. Included in Cerner’s data warehousew are 1.
2 billion lab results. It also has smalledr numbers of medication orders and other The company collects the information through data-sharing agreements with roughly 125 of its softwarer clients. By some estimates, it can take as long as 17 yearswand $1.2 billion to develo p a single drug. Cerner’s data-mining capabilitiesw can quicken that process and save moneg for drug companies by helping the companies establish a studyg protocol that maximizes the number of eligiblwe candidates fora trial. “We believd that can actually eventually reduce the cost of drug Hoffman said. Cerner would not name its pharmaceutica customers.
Pharmaceutical companies and clinical researchers pay for Cerned data forother reasons, said Scott Weir, director of the ’sw Office of Therapeutics Discovery and He said Cerner’s data-mining capability can pointf scientists to potential new uses for existingb drugs. For instance, Weir said, Cerner’s database might suggest that a drug used to treay cardiovascular disease could be helpfuk in treatingcancer patients. Researcherss then could run a clinical triak to testthe idea. The data is useful to drug companiesz for much the same Weir said, including helpingf them identify and correct side effecta from drugs.
The KU Cancer Center has used Cerner’sd data-mining capabilities for severap projects. “They uncover information we would never Weir said. “It’s invaluable.” He said Cerner standx to benefit financially, as well, from collaborationz with researchers that can lead to intellectualk property that produces licensing fees and Cerner also can work with researchers suchas Dr. Stephen Spielberg, directorf of the Center for Personalizedx Medicine and Therapeutic Innovationat . Spielberg seeks a $3.9 million granf from the for a study of how the cente can better capture data in pediatric cancer studieas usingCerner software.