Blockchain Technology Empowering Genetics
Blockchain is a digital ledger for assets and other data, with four fundamental characteristics: it is distributed, cryptographically secure, tamper-proof and often open-source. The rise of blockchain benefitted immensely from breakthroughs in cryptography and computing; the tipping point was in 2008 with emergence of Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
Blockchain is the new golden child of health care because of the immense potential that it offers as a shared platform to decentralize health data and ensure access control, authenticity and integrity of protected health information. The growing need to capture, store and manage genomic data for clinical trial management, development of new drugs and therapies, and personalization of care is making genomics an apt application area for blockchain. The health care industry has also benefited from the unique properties of cryptocurrencies for the transaction of data, including the use of unique tokens that allows for transparency, low cost, and micropayments.
The Visionary Innovation business unit of Frost & Sullivan’s Transformation Health practice predicts a potential cost savings of as much as $20 billion by 2025 using blockchain for secure management of universal health care records that include genomic and user-generated data. Frost & Sullivan’s Genetic Technology TechVision Opportunity Engine constantly tracks the latest developments in the explosive field of genetics with an emphasis on technological opportunities. Analysts have identified the following companies as trailblazers in using the power of blockchain to empower genetics.
The computer science company’s next-generation blockchain security software protects, shares and remarkets genomic data. Its flagship product, MyGene-Chain, empowers individuals by making them curators of their own genetic data. Users have complete access control to their DNA data uploaded on the blockchain and can share it for scientific research, with the additional opportunity for monetization. The company plans to launch Gene-Chain for professional genomic data users, including pharmaceutical companies, medical centers, academic institutions, research and development centers, and sequencing companies by the end of the year. The new product will be able to manage large volumes of data and provide an opportunity for unlimited publishing and searching of data sets across metadata, indexing, unique variants, qualities and gene types without compromising security.
Encrypgen differentiates itself by not selling data, instead giving users the ability to decide payment for their contribution to advancing science. The use of its cryptocurrency DNA token as a method of data exchange on the platform not only facilitates the trade of data across borders, but also eliminates issues around currency fluctuations. By giving users complete access control to a blockchain-enabled, secure platform that uses cryptocurrency for data monetization, the company is ushering in a new era in genomic data management.
