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Plattform Life Sciences 2/2017 - Precision medicine is revolutionizing how we treat disease

Why we have to identify other biomarkers beyond those rooted in genetics to harness the full advantages of precision medicine

Märkte & Technologien Precision medicine is revolutioniz ing how we treat disease Why we have to identify other biomarkers beyond those rooted in genetics to harness the full advantages of precision medicine Through detecting and monitoring biomarkers associated with patients’ individual diseases, we can stratify patients into subgroups, select those that will respond to treatment and better predict side effects. This approach can boost treatment success rates, helping to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes. Precision medicine is therefore particularly crucial in pharma markets tackling widespread, life-threatening diseases that place fi nancial strain on the healthcare industry. Two such markets concern cancer and autoimmune diseases (AID), which combined account for an estimated 188 billion USD in direct healthcare costs each year in the US alone.1,2 By Dr. Peter Schulz-Knappe and Dr. Georg Lautscham Fig. 1: The immune system must be kept in a delicate balance to prevent the formation of cancer Quelle: Protagen In oncology, many genomic markers have been clinically validated and have improved therapeutic outcomes. However, novel immunotherapies, which are showing great promise in combating cancer, cannot use ge- nomic markers because they are unsuitable to detect the complex immunological proces- ses underlying immunotherapies and their immune-related Adverse Events (irAEs). Therefore, to ensure the advancement of can- cer immuno therapies and AID treatments, it 1) American Cancer Society. Economic Impact of Cancer. (2014). Available at: http://gp-mag.de/ecoimpact. (Accessed: 27th April 2017) 2) AARDA. Autoimmune Statistics. (2011). Available at: http://gp-mag.de/aarda. (Accessed: 27th April 2017) is crucial to start using biomarkers beyond genetics that can stratify and monitor patients based on their immune system responses. Only then can the immuno-oncology and AID markets start harnessing the exciting potential of precision medicine. Precision medicine for autoimmune disease and cancer AID occurs when a patient’s immune system targets the body’s own tissues and organs, leading to harmful symptoms such as infl ammation. Patients from different forms of AID often experience similar symptoms, making the systematic suffering 24 ls 02-2017 „Personalisierte Medizin“ use of biomarkers essential in diagnosing dif- ferent diseases, and in selecting patients for treatment and monitoring their response. However, although diagnostic tools for AID are generally well-established, there has been less progress in developing and adopt- ing companion diagnostic (CDx) tools. This is problematic given that most of the broad- spectrum drugs currently used for AID are ineffective for large subsets of patients. Moreover, traditional genomic markers are unsuitable because they cannot be used to indicate the complex immunological mecha- ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dr. Peter Schulz-Knappe, Chief Scientific Officer at Protagen, is a medical doctor with over 25 years‘ experience in bioche- mistry, as well as over 15 years in R&D management. Dr. Georg Lautscham, Chief Business Officer at Protagen, is a chemist and immunologist with over 15 years’ expe- rience as a Biotech Executive.

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