BioMérieux seals acquisition to boost bioinformatics offering
The firm said the deal would expand its EpiSeq service in next-generation sequencing (NGS) for the epidemiological monitoring and control of healthcare-associated infections.
Longer term, synergies are foreseen in industrial microbiology to facilitate the traceability and investigations of epidemics along the food chain.
Applied Maths makes software for the biosciences including for databasing, analysis and interpretation of complex biological data.
It develops and commercializes BioNumerics universal software for microbiology applications, including in bacteriology, virology and mycology.
The software can manage different data types (phenotypic information, molecular PCR, genetic sequences, spectral profiles, whole genome maps, metadata, etc.)
Food industry relevance
Alain Pluquet, bioMérieux corporate VP, CTO and innovation, said BioNumerics is a software platform that can combine information from various genomic, proteomic and phenotypic sources into one database and conduct conclusive analyses.
“BioNumerics is highly relevant to the food industry sector because it offers the possibility to establish clear correlation patterns to better understand food safety risks and manage them better,” he told FoodQualityNews.
“It’s also the perfect tool when the size and the complexity of the data in the production chain goes up. Applied Maths already has in its customer portfolio a certain number of food industry companies and this market segment is expected to grow.”
Pluquet said there are different methods to identify microorganism in food, like culture, molecular techniques, mass spectrometry, NGS, etc.
“Not only BioNumerics covers all those data types, but it also offers a large choice of appropriate algorithmic tools, enabling various analysis strategies. It’s really a universal tool that can be customized to serve specific customer needs,” he said.
“Our perception is that the regulatory/standardization framework in the food sector is evolving. In this increasingly demanding environment, bioMérieux accompany the development of food industries and anticipate their need for improved customer safety.”
Jean-Luc Belingard, chairman of bioMérieux, said: “The acquisition of Applied Maths with its powerful BioNumerics software suite will help answer the most recent expectations of our customers, facing a growing digitalization of the laboratory environment and requiring more insights to make more informed clinical decisions for better patient care.”
Interpreting info and data
BioMérieux said interpretation of complex biological information generated by NGS, mass-spectrometry and molecular biology is becoming a critical success factor to provide high-precision diagnostic information to the scientific community and healthcare professionals.
At the crossroads between biology and computing, the bioinformatics market is undergoing sustainable double-digit growth with the potential to turn big data into meaningful and actionable decisions, it added.
When asked about the growth predictions, Pluquet said there are no undisputable sources about the bioinformatics market size and dynamics.
“BioMérieux estimates on this market was based on the synthesis of several public market studies and on the knowledge of Applied Maths that converge to a high teens CAGR.”
With an installed base of over 81,000 instruments worldwide, bioMérieux said its automated diagnostic systems are generating increasing quantities of biological information key to improving clinical knowledge about disease-causing microorganisms.
The firm added strengthening its bioinformatics know-how is instrumental to enhance its offering in the analysis and interpretation of biological data.
Koen Janssens, CEO of Applied Maths, said: “Our common passion for microbiology forms a very solid basis to build our future synergies on the short and longer term. By combining our fields of expertise, we will improve the quality of public health and food safety worldwide.”
