Precision medicine is an innovative approach that utilizes information about an individual’s genomic, environmental and lifestyle information to guide decisions related to their medical management.
Behavioural, social, and other exogenous factors can be tracked and measured through wearables and a various medical device. These factors account for roughly 60% of our overall health outcomes, encompassing behavioural, socio-economic, physiological, and psychological data.
In comparison, our genetic makeup contributes about 30%, while our medical history account for only around 10%.
PM Approach enables doctors and researchers to predict accurately which treatment and prevention strategies work for which group of people in particular disease.
With the help of Precision Medicine,
- ACCELERATE – the discovery of novel targets
- PREDICT – the effectiveness of treatments
- IDENTIFY – potentially life-saving clinical trials
- DIAGNOSE – multiple diseases earlier
Drivers of Precision Medicine
- Advancement in Molecular biology
- Advancement in computational approaches for big data analysis.
- Advancement in genomic sequencing technologies
- Increasing use of companion diagnostics
- Rising demand for personalized healthcare approaches
- Development of targeted therapies
- Increasing prevalence of chronic disease
Challenges of Precision Medicine
- Cost & Accessibility – Advanced genomic testing and targeted therapies remain expensive. It hinders widespread adoption. Cost of storing and managing large amounts of data. Accessibility to these advanced technologies across socioeconomic demographics remains challenge.
- Reimbursement Challenge – Reimbursement from third-party payers (such as private insurance companies) for genomic testing, immunotherapy treatment & targeted drugs are also likely to become an issue.
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genomics or genetic variation that influence individual response to particular drugs. Individuals with same disease will respond differently to same medications.
Pharmacogenomics aims to predict three major drug effects: Efficacy (how effectively a drug works), toxicity (potential side effects and ways to negate), dosing (optimal dose of drug to administer to patients).
- Efficacy – “How effectively the drug works based on the patient’s medical condition and genetic makeup?”
- Toxicity – “What are the potential side effects of this drug, and how can we minimize its adverse effects for the patient?”
- Dosing – “How can we ensure the administration of the optimal dosage while minimizing the risk of overdose?”
Precision diagnostics is a branch of precision medicine that uses omics-based data analytics to guide personalized healthcare management and enable the precise diagnosis of specific diseases.
Type of Omics technologies
- Single cells omics technologies that enable scientists to analyse the molecular characteristics of individual cells rather than averaging data across millions of cells.
- Bulk omics – Before single-cell methods existed, scientists studied large populations of cells or tissues.
- Spatial omics technologies are advanced molecular methods that map biological molecules such as RNA, DNA, and proteins within tissues or cells, revealing their precise spatial distribution rather than just their presence.
- Meta Omics technologies are the study of collective genetic material, RNA, proteins, and metabolites of entire microbial communities rather than focusing on single organisms in isolation.
Targeted therapy drugs refer to class of medications that specifically designed to identify and target disease-causing molecular abnormalities with minimal effects on healthy cells. It is branch of precision medicine that utilizes information from individual genetics and other omics to prevent and treat disease. It is also referred to as non-chemotherapy.
- Small-molecule drugs – They are typically of tiny enough to enter cells easily and interfere specific target molecules or pathways. They find the target, enter the cell, and block the target so it dies.
- Monoclonal antibody – They are lab made antibodies which target specific antigen (protein). They are commercially developed and works by binding specific targets (transmembrane receptors, extracellular growth receptors, radioisotopes or toxins) on the surface of cell due to large size.
