The network of firms gathered by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the well-known billionaire physician, has spun out one of its first products, a BlackBerry-integrated genomics browser that connects physicians to patients' genomics data.
The browser will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and “available to the professional community in early 2015,” Blackberry said in a release.
The goal for the product, called the NantOmics Cancer Genome Browser, is to display genomics data so that physicians can more precisely target pharmaceutical or other interventions through a patient's genome data. It will work on the Blackberry Passport smartphone, giving the troubled smartphone maker a path to target market share in the healthcare space.
It's being launched through NantHealth, part of the network of companies Soon-Shiong has amassed with the goal of easier healthcare data sharing and computerized decision-making, particularly in the cancer space. Soon-Shiong's anti-cancer efforts were spotlighted in a 60 Minutes segment Sunday.
His network of firms has reportedly received upwards of $400 million in funding from entities such as the Kuwait Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait, as well as Verizon, BlackBerry, and Blackstone.
Soon-Shiong intends to take NantHealth, the health IT part of the network, public in 2015, according to remarks he made at a New York City conference last week.
Follow Darius Tahir on Twitter: @dariustahir
