Syntropy to Unlock the Value of Scientific Data in Fight to End Cancer

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and software company Palantir Technologies announced their intent to form a joint venture under the brand name Syntropy. Syntropy is expected to empower scientists and research centers with a collaborative technology platform to advance cancer research, help drive scientific discovery, and improve human lives.

Research institutions around the world are generating a rapidly growing amount of biomedical data, but much of it is trapped in silos within and between institutions. Today, this critical data is often inaccessible to the scientists and clinicians who need it to advance their work. Syntropy aims to unlock the value of this untapped data, enabling the world’s leading experts to collaborate in the fight against cancer and many other diseases.

“The success of science hinges on the ability to act on insights,” said Stefan Oschmann, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “We expect Syntropy to facilitate collaboration within the global scientific community, in order to drive breakthrough innovation in cancer research.”

“Unlocking the power of scientific data is critical to advancing the fight against cancer,” said Alexander Karp, Palantir co-founder and CEO. “Syntropy aims to help researchers collaborate securely to realize the value of this data, driving discoveries that will deliver better treatments to patients faster.”

Syntropy’s user-centric data integration platform is powered by Palantir Foundry, which allows users to structure and analyze data from disparate sources, enabling experts to more quickly act on novel research insights and advance patient care, while safeguarding data ownership. Syntropy is expected to also facilitate the secure, transparent sharing of data between participating researchers and institutions, creating an ecosystem that incentivizes collaboration and ultimately accelerates scientific discovery.