Precision Medicine & It’s Impact On Bioinnovation & Healthcare

By Ajay V. Patil, PhD

Defining Precision Medicine

In November, 2017, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) published the first edition of its precision medicine glossary. The glossary consists of 43 terms. Precision medicine is a relatively new field, and standardizing these key terms is very useful. Overall the group favored the term precision medicine over personalized medicine, though it acknowledged that the two are technically interchangeable. Detailed analysis under five different theme areas can be read in the detailed publication (2). Although the field of precision medicine primarily deals with complex issues of cancer therapy, targetable genomic alteration and tumor heterogeneity it has impacted many other allied areas in research and healthcare. Following are few focus areas in which precision medicine is going to make huge impact in coming years.

Interdependent relationship between research and data analytics

Clinical research progress is usually dependent on data-driven decisions about new targets, pathways and potential biomarkers. Hence it is important to increase access to data and analytics across research bodies and data holders. The next step is proposing research questions that allow data holders to collect and analyze broader data sets and provide insights to healthcare and patients. It is vital to develop exploring methods for giving scientists the access to patient data so they can reveal promising targets for developing innovative therapies.

Innovative clinical trial design-execution and cross functional collaborations

The other end of this is patient engagement in the healthcare system. It is really important to help them understand the value of their data in research. Developing better patient outreach strategies to encourage data sharing and using data analytics to provide valuable clinical insights is the key. These insights can be effectively used to further calibrate clinical trial designs and key factors determining success of these trials.

Solving investment challenges and accelerating the process with disruptive technology

Developing new investment models that align incentives and progress. Finding new opportunities to fund research foundations and consortiums. Encouraging effective philanthropic culture. Balancing scientific mission and financial stability. Developing new business models using disruptive technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency. Identifying newer and faster ways for data interpretation using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

MEDTEX Med X Tech Summit Asia is scheduled to take place in Taipei, Taiwan during November 29 – December 02, 2018. This healthcare expo will witness impressive lineup of speakers from major players like Merck, Teva, Hitachi, Nividia, Microsoft, Takeda, Stemcyte, IBM Watson Health, Medicalchain, Extensiacover and Google AI. Industry and academia experts from around the world will provide extensive perspective over various topics including – IO & NextGen Bio-therapeutics, personalized healthcare delivery using precision medicine, intelligent healthcare ecosystem, blockchain and electronic health security in healthcare, big data to evidence based patient care. Global healthcare expo will conclude this event availing exciting networking opportunities and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations.

References

1. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(17)30865-3/fulltext
2. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/ mdx707
3. https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/a-better-business-model-for-fighting-cancer

Author

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