Industrial Biotech R & D is highly diverse, and covers a wide range of activities from screening of environmental genomic samples, identification and characterization of new enzymes, and protein engineering, to full implementation of production systems including up-scaling and downstream processing optimization.

Genedata, a leading provider of Life Science computational solutions, has identified the need to support this research and development process through a tight integration of data management with interactive tools to access the comprehensive, coherent, research-critical information along the full process. The modular Genedata platform addresses the storage and mining of new sequence information from metagenomes or organisms to identify new potential enzymes.. It comprehensively manages early discovery data prior to hand-over to development, including functional characterization results, and registration of biological materials such as plasmids, expression systems and purified samples. The platform thus facilitates decisions on which production systems and process optimization to choose based on existing and generated know-how. Furthermore, this information can be tied in with available genome information on production strains or previous expression systems. In combination with transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics data, it forms the basis for an integrated in-depth understanding of cellular metabolism and the generation of production models. Finally, the platform offers seamless integration of tools to investigate and track the current patent situation, critical for decision support in product management. We will outline how this modular and integrative platform eliminates the barriers between data acquisition, data analysis, decision making and IP-protection to streamline the research and development process.