SBIR Phase I: BioPath Finder: An integrative workflow for the design, construction and analysis of biological pathways

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative workflow that greatly expedites the model building process in Systems Biology. This workflow will make the collection of data and mechanisms in order to define the model an integrated process, enabling modelers to make consistent, well-informed decisions about the model building process. Modeling is becoming increasing important, motivated by the FDA's drive to modernize the drug discovery process and the advent of emerging fields such as Systems Biology. A broad adoption of modeling has been limited, however, because the current practice of creating models is laborious in that it is difficult to assemble and digest data from various sources, such as the literature, databases, and experts in the field. Moreover, it is one of the critical bottlenecks or limiting steps in the process of producing a model that can be used in the research cycle. The commercial value of this approach is high as the pharmaceutical industry is investing significantly in mathematical modeling and Systems Biology aiming to overcome both the skyrocketing costs of drug development and the stagnation in the discovery of new drugs since the 1990's. The market for Systems Biology products and services is expected to grow at an annual compound rate of 66% exceeding $1 billion by 2009. Further, aging populations in developed countries are going to cause sharp increases in health care costs, while at the same time there are serious budgetary pressures (both from government and private insurers) to keep health care costs under control. Thus, methods that speed up the research cycle and reduce development costs for new drugs and treatments are going to become increasingly important.