ECONOMIC IMPACT
PRODUCTS
three biotech products/services that are helpful for the public & provide for the "common good"
FACTORS
what factors drive technological innovations in different segments of the biotech community?
DEVELOPERS
Precision medicine, based upon a patient’s genetics, allows doctors to prescribe treatments and medications that will most likely help patients. As treatments are better selected in regards to patients’ genetic makeup, they are more effective and take regards that different types of cancer mean different things. No longer will one medication be used to treat a disease, but it will be many medications, all based upon who the person is [E-I1]. Researchers from biotech companies are often the ones who create these precise medications. Then, these products are placed on the market for doctors and patients to use. Click here to learn more about some of the biotech innovators who develop these treatments.
FACTORS
Emerging as the primary approach for disease prevention and treatment for diseases, it was precision medicine’s appeals that drove it to different segments of the biotech community. The idea of individualized care was attractive as the created medications and treatments were tailored to individual variations in genes, environments, and lifestyles [E-I2]. With the support of technology and new discoveries, precision medicine can further advance in healthcare. Simply, if there is better and more knowledge on how “specific genetic variants impact medication metabolism,” developers can effectively guide diagnostic and therapeutic decisions; more evidence translates to better treatments and medication for the patients [E-I3] . Advances in technology have also accelerated scientific discovery in genomics. For instance, cloud-based platforms that organize big data will greatly fuel precision medicine research. Organizing the immense amount of databases and workflows into one ecosystem will make researchers’ jobs easier, allowing them to analyze the data and identify patterns and trends more quickly [E-I4]. Lastly, one of the most important factors that drive precision medicine is consumer interest and demand. Though genetic testing is costly, consumers justify the expense and realize the positives of it [E-I3]. Positive outcomes from other patients generate this greater interest, popularizing precision medicine in the biotech community.
TRASTUZUMAB
Also known as Herceptin, Trastuzumab is one bioproduct that is helpful for the public and provides for the “common good.” A monoclonal antibody, Trastuzumab targets the human epidermal growth-factor receptor 2 (HER2), a gene often linked with the development of breast cancer [E-I5]. Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as announced by Genentech, on September 25, 1998, Herceptin was to be used “in patients with metastatic breast cancer who have tumors that overexpress the HER2 protein” [E-I6]. This bioproduct is used to work against HER2-positive breast cancers and is ultimately helpful for the public as it blocks the ability of cancer cells to receive chemical signals to grow [E-I7].
IMATINIB
Also known as Gleevec, Imatinib is a landmark drug that targets a specific type of blood cancer called chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) [E-I8] . This made CML, a disease that in the past ended with death, into a manageable disease, allowing 83% of patients to live 10 more years or longer. Typically people who take Gleevec become better and only have a few side effects. Gleevec was created to target a mutation specific to CML, and has set the mark for more targeted therapies. Imatinib, or better known as Gleevec, has been a biotech product that provides for the “common good” [E-I9].
LACROTRECTNIB
The drug Larotrectinib, also known as the medication Vitrakvi, is “designed to kill off tumors by attacking a protein called TRK,” one that becomes hyperactive in people with a specific genetic mutation [E-I10]. Designed by Loxo Oncology, this has become, according to the FDA, the first drug developed as a tumor-agnostic treatment [E-I10]. This drug is specifically for patients, both adults, and children, with advanced solid tumors containing the NTRK gene fusion; it is for patients whose cancer has already spread, for patients who would experience severe complications if they were to undergo surgery, or for patients who have no other alternatives [E-I11] . Though genetic tumor testing is expensive, Lacrotrectinib is a biotech product that is helpful for the public, with the potential of saving more patients if they were to understand their options.