Navigating Large Molecule Data

Amgen is the world’s largest independent biotechnology firm. Its therapeutic drugs are used to treat conditions from leukemia and anemia to osteoporosis and arthritis. For the 2014 Innovation Summit in Amgen’s Research and Development group, Schema led a human-centered design process working closely with a team of scientists culminating in a vision prototype of a data-driven user interface for accessing molecule information. The prototype makes finding molecule information—previously stored in digital documents—more efficient and delightful. The interface includes 3D molecule representations, the capability to filter, sort and search, as well as a relational view for surfacing molecules with similar attributes.

Amgen Atlas makes accessing molecule information more efficient and delightful

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Process

Our process started as a Design Thinking workshop over the course of several months during which Schema lead a group of a dozen scientists and other key stakeholders on the concept and design of an internal tool to confront the problem of information access in relation to Amgen’s molecule data. The group converged in regular meetings to define the problem, brainstorm ideas and evaluate designs. During the final stage of the process, Schema built a fully interactive and dynamic prototype designed for a Microsoft Surface tablet.

Outcome

The successful reception of the prototype during the Innovation Summit enabled us to continue the project and build a first version of the tool, now used by individuals in both R&D and Process Development at Amgen. Schema continues to work with Amgen to improve Atlas and innovate in the area of molecular data visualization.