Blockchain Ecosystem By South Korean Biotech Firm For Genomics Big Data Community

Macrogen, a public South Korean biotech enterprise is the nation’s leading gene sequencing service provider. They are building up a genomic data blockchain-based platform together with local tech firm Bigster, as indicated by an August 6 public statement.

The new organization will use blockchain tech to make a medical data ecosystem that would take into consideration both the safe and private storage and the transfer of a lot of delicate genomic and personal information.

As the public statement notes, advances in genomics are reshaping the worldwide medical scene, enabling it for individually customized diagnoses, treatment, and outlook. The medical data, which coordinates people’s genomic, wellbeing and way of life information, are both very delicate and of excellent incentive for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

Addressing local news outlet The Korea Herald, Macrogen CEO Yang Kap-Seok remarked,

“Despite its wide utility, gene data has been difficult to move around due to privacy protection issues and technological barriers. We hope that our upcoming blockchain-based platform will allow health care genet[ic] and medical big data to be circulated freely.”

Macrogen and Bigster plan to develop the platform by June 2019 and have selected to make a permissioned blockchain that would confine access to particular intuitions, for example, pharmaceutical organizations, biotech firms, clinics, and research establishments.

As Cointelegraph announced this May, a precedent for the utilization of blockchain for the protected exchange of genomic data has been set by American Nebula Genomics’ collaboration with Longenesis — the last being a Hong-Kong-based association between Insilico Medicine and the Bitfury Group.

In April, US healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group reported that it would execute blockchain to keep up with the latest in a more proficient, secure and available way.