How Genomics Will Help
The value of the impending genomics revolution is that it will grant researchers the ability to dramatically reduce the time and effort it takes to identify and test promising compounds. Hopefully, this will allow companies to bring drugs to market and achieve profits much more rapidly than previously possible in the biotech industry. This streamlining of the drug discovery process will result in lower costs for companies able to take advantage of genomics, and ultimately higher earnings.
Genomics will allow researchers to focus their efforts on the genome, and more specifically individual genes. A gene is a sequence of DNA strands in the genome that carries specific information, such as eye color or bone structure. These genes then transmit their information by creating proteins, which in turn enact changes upon the body.
The isolation of individual genes will allow researchers the opportunity to study diseases and genetic conditions at their root. This will allow for tailor made substances that are specifically designed to combat diseases and infirmities. Isolating a gene will aid researchers in discovering how a disease functions, and should ultimately point to opportunities for treatment of that disease.
The increase in the level of accuracy that researchers should experience will allow researchers to focus on drugs that are more likely to succeed trials. Costly Phase II and III trial failures may be reduced, as researchers are able to send drugs through the approval process with a much higher success rate than was previously possible.
Genetic identification will also allow researchers to screen test subjects to learn which ones have the highest potential to be helped by the drug. This will also allow for the creation of drugs that are much more highly focused and specialized towards individuals. The marketplace may soon offer a high number of individually tailored drugs for different genetic types that will prove more effective for their target markets than the all-encompassing drugs which currently populate the market.