A Healthcare Analytics Company

Exploratory Projects

Exploratory projects are used by OBiS to help identify new business opportunities.  Generally the projects have an element of social good, and often are student led.

BIIB (Baccalauréat et Immersion dans I’industrie Biotechnologique)

The BIIB is a pilot program designed to give French high school juniors and seniors planning to take the French Baccalauréat work experience at OBiS.  The program runs as a summer internship job and provides the opportunity for students to apply their new skills in biology, chemistry and mathematics.  There is also a related Ambassador Program where OBiS sponsors the students to work for a select non-profit group involved with activities related to that of OBiS and its long term strategic vision.

Personalized Medicine (i.e. Pharmacogenetics)

Personalized medicine, also referred to as pharmacogenetics, involves the selection of medicine based on an individual’s genetic profile. Today’s medicine can have different effects in different people both in terms of the effectiveness of the drug and the side effects.  The current approach to managing these differences is often simply by trial and error which can be costly and have severe patient health consequences.  In the future, there will be the opportunity to perform a test of the patient’s genetic profile before prescribing the medicine thus prescribing the optimum treatment.  In fact, the NIH predicts in the future ones complete genetic profile can be stored on a smart phone (2030 bold prediction #8).  In 1990, the first human genome was completely sequenced.  Since that time, the costs has dropped precipitately from $100,000 in 2001 to $1,000 in 2020 [source: NIH Genome Initiative].  There are even some companies expecting the cost to drop to $100, making it as common as a blood test.

This OBiS exploratory project is based on a simple premise that if there are patient and financial benefits, why not find ways to implement personalized medicine sooner.  There are many other considerations such as ethical and privacy, that need to be addressed to result in the successful advancement of personalized medicine that are intended to be addressed as part of the project.

France-Africa Clinical Development

Clinical trials are needed to test the safety and effectiveness of new medicines.  As new medicines are becoming more targeted and specialized, it is becoming more difficult to find patients to participate in the clinical trials.  Clinical trials provide a “win-win-win” opportunity for patients, medicines developers and institutions (hospitals and clinics) conducting the trials.  There are many nations in Africa where patients and health care institutions could benefit from increasing the level of clinical testing.  Over 140 million people in Africa speak French across 34 nations, thus, France is in a leadership position to facilitate the development of clinical testing in Africa.  Despite the potential for success there are many obstacles and challenges that must be overcome which must be done with a strong ethical framework and complete respect for patient benefit and well-being.

Turbo-charging the French Biotechnology Industry

Throughout history, France has play a pivotal role in the advancement of medicine.  Globally, the biotechnology industry has become extremely competitive.  For France to maintain its competitive edge, it needs to proactively find ways to encourage both interest and investment.  The purpose of this Exploratory Project is to identify new innovate ways in which France can grow its biotechnology industry.