Advaita Receives Grant for Commercialization of New Genetic Data Analysis Software

Plymouth, MI – September 18, 2014 – Advaita Bioinformatics announced today that it has secured a $125,000 matching grant from the Michigan Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) administered through the Michigan Small Business Development Center (MI-SBDC). The grant is a 1:1 match of additional third party funds it received bringing the total of new funds to $250,000.

These funds come on the heels of a Phase-II Small Business Innovation Research Grant (SBIR) Advaita received in May 2014 for $1.8 million over three years. The $250,000 is designated for the commercialization of software the company is developing for the analysis, interpretation, and prediction of genetic data.

With the ever-increasing use of DNA sequencing, the volume of data available for analysis has grown exponentially. Current methods for analyzing these data have been lagging. Advaita has a unique approach that allows it to quickly identify the mechanisms that may be causing the condition being studied by researchers. Advaita’s latest endeavors are targeted toward personalized medicine and leveraging internet cloud infrastructure to deliver results in minutes instead of weeks or months.

“With these funds, we will have the resources needed to pave the road forward for marketing our software to the research and pharmaceutical communities, drive sales, and bring high-paying jobs to Michigan,” said Sorin Draghici, President and CEO, Advaita. “We have already seen incredible interest for our software and have established a number of key partnerships that will be announced next month. These are expected to greatly increase customer use and adoption of our software.”

Advaita has already partnered with the market leader in sequencing technology, Illumina, by providing a software application called, iPathwayGuide, to their users. “Through Illumina’s cloud computing environment, called BaseSpace, researchers are able to seamlessly analyze their sequencing results and get deep biological insights using iPathwayGuide,” explained Advaita’s Vice President, Andrew Olson.

About MI-SBDC

The Michigan Small Business Development Center (MI-SBDC) provides counseling, business education, information-based planning, and technology commercialization to new and existing businesses throughout Michigan’s 83 counties. The MI-SBDC in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation administers the Michigan Emerging Technologies Fund (ETF). The ETF expands funding opportunities for Michigan technology companies in federal research and development by providing matching dollars to support commercialization of Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer projects. Since 2008, $7.28 million has been allocated to the ETF.

About Advaita

Advaita Bioinformatics is a leader in the development of analytic solutions for high-throughput biological data. Founded in 2005 with headquarters near Ann Arbor, Michigan, Advaita’s novel analysis helps translate the terabytes of genomic data produced as a result of gene-expression experiments into a better understanding of the underlying biological phenomena. Advaita’s patented approach, called Impact Analysis, delivers results and insights that cannot be achieved with any other commercial analysis software. iPathwayGuide is the first web application capable of identifying mechanisms of action, micro-RNAs, genetic variants, and potential drug targets, directly from gene-expression experiments. This unique ability helps researchers quickly zero in on drug targets and validate drug candidates with the greatest potential for success while avoiding costly dead-ends. For more information, please go to http://www.AdvaitaBio.com.