26/3/2013

Open PHACTS develops prototype app

The Open PHACTS   project has developed a prototype of an iPhone app that provides rapid access to information on compounds of interest to drug developers. A video demonstration   of the app on YouTube shows how simply typing the name of a drug into the app delivers information on its chemical structure, function, pharmacology, and latest news relating to it. The app is not yet available as it is still in the early stages of development. Meanwhile, the project team points out that ‘the aim is to show that the next generation of drug discovery APIs [application programming interfaces] make app development so much easier’.

Open PHACTS is building an Open Pharmacological Space in a 3-year knowledge management project of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a unique partnership between the European Community and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The project aims to deliver a sustainable service to continue after the project funding ends. The GRIB takes part of the consortium of leading academics in semantics, pharmacology and informatics, driven by solid industry business requirements: 28 partners, including 9 pharmaceutical companies and 3 biotechs.