BG Medicine has established a proprietary, state-of-the-art technology platform that we apply for discovering and validating novel biomarkers. Our platform integrates molecular measurement technologies based on specialized high-throughput mass spectrometry, chromatography, spectroscopy and multiplexed assay technologies. In the equivalent of a few drops of blood, BG Medicine is able to detect, analyze and characterize over 1,000 biological molecules that are key indicators of health, disease and drug response.
As important as the number of molecules detected is their diversity. An important prerequisite to a successful biomarker is relevance, specificity and sensitivity to the disease or the drug in question. Because the human body is a highly complicated and intricate system, a single molecule is rarely sufficient for a confident clinical decision. This is particularly true with complex diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. BG Medicine’s technology platform measures molecules as diverse as proteins, lipids, fatty acids, organic acids, amino acids, and many other types of key compounds that reflect the molecular complexity of the human organism. By doing so, our technology provides unprecedented, detailed measurement of multiple important disease and drug target pathways in the body affected by disease and drug treatments.
We accomplish this feat by applying multiple, customized biochemical sample analysis platforms. These are seamlessly integrated through an advanced, central data management, analytics, and data processing infrastructure. Through significant investments in automation and robotic sample handling technology, we have built a highly scalable biomarker discovery and validation platform.
Our proprietary data analysis, statistics and bioinformatics workflows are integrated with our measurement suite to enable rapid evaluation and interpretation of molecular measurement data. Over the course of our many years of operation, we have amassed extensive proprietary databases of identified and characterized biological molecules and their functions detected across many diseases and treatments. By leveraging this experience we are able to apply our technology platform broadly and efficiently to multiple, diverse programs for biomarker discovery and molecular diagnostic development.
BG Medicine has integrated quality control and quality assurance systems throughout every step of sample analysis and data generation. Our work is conducted within a robust and externally audited laboratory information management system, or LIMS, environment, and monitored by quality assurance and quality control processes to ensure the accuracy, integrity and reproducibility of our findings. Internal and external standards are designed and used for process monitoring and data normalization, ensuring that the technology platforms operate predictably, reproducibly and verifiably. Our QC/QA function is led by a dedicated, independent group within the company.
