Spain's Biotech Revolution

Computations for the Future

Search optimization also inspired Ignasi Belda when he and his partners created Intelligent Pharma in Barcelona, “a kind of a Google for compounds,” says Belda.

They’ve developed a computerized system called Helios to search for molecules that might match the functions of ones that researchers plug into the database.

“They connect to our website, they put in the compound that they want to mimic, and then they click ‘search’,” says Belda.

“Our supercomputer does the calculations to obtain a list of the compounds that have the same biological activity as the compound that the user introduced.”

To do this, they’ve created algorithms that calculate the physical and chemical properties of the molecule, in threedimensional space. “It’s a kind of virtual atom that we move around the compound,” says Belda. By testing the virtual interactions between the compound and their virtual atom, they generate 22 different fields, such as charge, hydrophobicity, and ability to accept hydrogen bonds. The system runs through millions of compounds in a database to determine which ones might have the same fields, and thus perhaps the same functionality.

“This might be helpful if you have a natural product that’s difficult to synthesize and you need another compound more chemically available,” says Belda.

The company’s current research focus, adds Belda, is to create software based on artificial intelligence that will aid in the creation of new compounds for drug discovery.

The founders of NorayBio, based in Bilbao, saw a need for advanced computations and data analysis in the field of biotechnology. The founders, with experience in biotechnology, chemistry, and research, worked in collaboration with companies and clients to develop software to suit their needs.

Small companies and research groups “were just using an Excel set,” says Julio Font, CEO. “Now that’s changed, they know they need specialized software for managing data.” NorayBio designs software for managing sample banks (such as DNA or tissue samples) that can be tailored to meet a customer’s needs.

The company is now developing a visualization system for biomarkers, so researchers can actually see the data in relationship to different biological pathways. The first one in development is software to visualize biomarkers in liver disease. “It’s been exciting to see the market evolution,” says Font. “Two or three years ago potential customers said they can manage their data with a simple spreadsheet, and now they call and say, ‘I need your software.’”

Integromics, a spinoff from the National Center for Biotechnology begun in 2003, has developed a number of solutions to help companies manage and analyze their experimental gene-expression data. The software takes all the information created by a research instrument such as a PCR machine and performs the data analysis for the scientist. The company’s founders have focused their sights internationally, and they count companies like Pfizer and Novartis among their clients.

“Usually it takes time for a small company to build up a base,” says Marco Rodríguez, vice president. “We’re lucky in the sense that the software sells itself. Once a client in the lab tries it out, we don’t need to explain how much time this can save.”