7/6/2013

Open PHACTS apps get developer community buzzing

Experts from across Europe and beyond gathered in London at the end of April for the public release of the Open PHACTS  application programming interface (API) during the project’s Community Workshop. The API allows researchers to access and query the vast amounts of data compiled by the Open PHACTS project, creating their own, customised apps to do so if needed. The workshop featured demonstrations of two apps based on the API. PharmaTrek  developed by researchers of GRIB provides with an intuitive tool to explore the reams of target-protein interaction data that are publicly availabl e. Meanwhile, the ChemBioNavigator  app allows users to rapidly and easily compare the physicochemical properties of a molecule set. The API generated high levels of interest, and one attendee even incorporated use of the Open PHACTS API into an existing app during the workshop, proving that it is both easy to access and intuitive to use. The workshop also discussed safeguarding the sustainability of the Open PHACTS platform by setting up the not-for-profit Open PHACTS Foundation.

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.