Precision medicine has been applied in cancer, but what about prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases? Sanofi Pasteur has tapped Berg's artificial intelligence capabilities to discover biomarkers that could help scientists learn more about individual flu vaccine responses. Under the collaboration, Sanofi Pasteur is running a longitudinal study on its licensed flu vaccines, while Berg will analyze the biological materials from individuals participating in that study using its bAIcis artificial intelligence tool. The goal is to identify “molecular signatures and biomarkers indicative of breadth and durability of the influenza vaccine immunological response,” Niven Narain, Berg co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. In short, the team aims to learn about molecular features behind varying responses to flu shots out of data sets that are "unmanageably large" by traditional standards, according to the release. Performing end to end real-world evidence generation in the cloud with traceability and transparency- a Sanofi journey In this webinar you will hear about Sanofi’s journey and experience in building an industrialized big data & analytics platform in the cloud that handles billions of rows of RWD data with complete data traceability, security, and supports both traditional and advanced analytics for day to day evidence generation (RWE). Berg’s Interrogative Biology platform combines "multi-omic" molecular data—such as genomics—with patient clinical information, looking for drivers behind a particular clinical outcome with the help of artificial intelligence, Slava Akmaev, Ph.D., Berg’s SVP and chief analytics officer, told FiercePharma in an interview. In oncology, where Berg has used its AI tech to date, precision medicine has made significant progress in recent years, improving patient outcomes along the way. To Akmaev, the new project with Sanofi Pasteur in infectious disease prevention “showcases the versatility and ability” of the company’s technology. Sanofi Pasteur is the world’s largest flu vaccine maker, reeling in €1.52 billion last year with its flu offerings. The CDC previously estimated that flu vaccines were 48% effective during the 2016-2017 season. Health officials often attribute lower efficacy rates to the flu virus’ unpredictable mutations, but knowing more about biomarkers could help scientists develop shots that are targeted to make them more effective in particular groups of people. Akmaev said the deal could help Sanofi “inform future development" of more accurately targeted vaccines. Editor's Note: The story has been updated to substitute the term "precision medicine" for "personalized," to reflect that the potential for targeted flu vaccines might not be on the individual level.
Flu vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is working with artificial intelligence ( AI ) company Berg in a study using AI to identify biomarkers that reveal how well or badly a flu shot is performing . Flu vaccine were around 48 % effective during the 2016 - 2017 season , according to the US Centers for vaccine Control . The two firms are working to combine that figure with personalised vaccine developed using a combination of ' multi - omic ' molecular data and technology .