#BIOSPAIN2023Interview | "Biological therapies have become one of the main exponents of Precision Medicine"

One of the maxims in medicine is that early diagnosis improves the prognosis of diseases and increases the efficiency of the healthcare system. In this sense, important advances have been made in recent years thanks to the development of precision medicine. 

This, through the use of advanced diagnostic tests, makes it possible to know the prognosis better and to select the most appropriate treatment for each patient. The development of personalized medicine is linked to technological advances that make possible the precise analysis of the patient's biology, DNA, RNA and fundamental proteins, thus determining not only the molecular bases of a disease, but also those factors that can increase the risk of suffering from it. 

Precision medicine has brought about a revolution in cancer treatment: the response rate for cancer treatments is 30.6% compared with 4.9% for traditional treatments. Biological therapies are currently one of the most promising avenues in the treatment not only of cancer, but also of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

The horizon that we envision shows us multiple cutting-edge solutions that, little by little, are breaking down existing barriers and revolutionizing precision medicine. A future that Promega, a company with a strong commitment to the promotion of life sciences and Silver Sponsor of BIOSPAIN 2023, where cutting-edge topics such as personalized medicine will be discussed. Iván Marcos Campos, Strategic Collaborations Manager of the company, tells us.

AseBio. Personalized and precision medicine is a very broad concept that includes very different elements. How would you define it?

Iván Marcos. Indeed, the concept of personalized and precision medicine is widely used because of its enormous scope. Personalized medicine is based on the idea that each patient is unique and that variability in response to treatment is influenced by various molecular and environmental factors, so that the same disease may require different treatment for different patients depending on their characteristics. 

Similarly, many subtypes of the same disease have historically been grouped under the same umbrella, causing treatments to lose effectiveness due to this lack of specificity. Precision medicine, on the other hand, arises with the purpose of identifying biomarkers and molecular profiles within pathologies, thus allowing us to create subgroups based on their characteristics and develop specific treatments directed at those molecules or specific targets that are differentially expressed in that subgroup.

Thus, personalized or precision medicine could be defined as the approach to medical care that seeks to tailor treatments and disease prevention to the individual characteristics of each patient and each disease.
 

AseBio. Personalized precision medicine encompasses multiple facets that pose a paradigm shift in the way healthcare is delivered. Which are the ones that are yielding the most advances and good results?

Iván Marcos. The paradigm shift implied by the transition to personalized medicine is complete, ranging from Preventive Medicine to Diagnosis and Advanced Targeted Therapies. Fortunately, it is difficult to indicate in which fields it has had the greatest impact, since it has been key to improving results in all of them.

Individual genetic profiling has proven to be useful in identifying people who are at higher risk of developing certain diseases before symptoms appear, enabling healthcare professionals to make a more accurate risk assessment and recommend personalized preventive measures to reduce that risk.

On the other hand, the detection of specific mutations and biomarkers are playing a key role in advances in personalized medicine, allowing not only the grouping of patients according to the presence of these molecular characteristics, but also in the selection of more effective treatments, such as gene therapies and cell therapies, including immunotherapy.

AseBio. The development of personalized medicine is linked to technological advances. What are the most cutting-edge technologies?

Iván Marcos. The ability to generate, combine and analyze data of various kinds has been key to developing this new way of understanding medicine. Without improvements in computational techniques that allow us to analyze the enormous amount of data generated, it would not have been possible to identify patterns and correlations with health data, which has resulted in increased sensitivity and specificity when diagnosing and treating diseases.

On the other hand, the set of "-omics" techniques, such as genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, have provided a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms of action of diseases, generating new therapeutic targets for the treatment of these pathologies. 
In particular, the ability to synthesize monoclonal antibodies and their derivatives at the industrial level has opened up a range of specific treatments that would have been unthinkable just over a decade ago.

It is important to bear in mind that all this information obtained thanks to these novel techniques is intended to be transformed into diagnostic and/or therapeutic tools that provide value to society, so designing solutions that facilitate this process of developing drugs or diagnostic kits will be one of the main keys to the evolution of Precision Medicine.

AseBio. Biological therapies are emerging as a revolution in the treatment of various diseases. What are the main advances being made?

Iván Marcos. Biological therapies have emerged as one of the main exponents of Precision Medicine, since, to a large extent, they have been made possible thanks to the knowledge generated by the "-omics" techniques mentioned above.

One of the main benefits of biologic therapies is their ability to specifically target the underlying mechanisms of a disease, allowing a more precise and personalized approach. Unlike conventional drugs, which often act in a more generalized manner in the body, biologic therapies are designed to selectively interact with specific therapeutic targets, which can improve efficacy and reduce unwanted side effects.

Another important aspect of biologic therapies is their potential to treat diseases that previously lacked effective treatments, providing innovative therapeutic options and improving patients' quality of life. In addition, another benefit of biologic therapies is the ability to treat minority diseases that are normally beyond the reach of large pharmaceutical companies.

Despite all the advances and benefits of biologic therapies, there are also significant challenges. These therapies are often expensive, which can limit their access and applicability in some healthcare systems. In addition, the complexity of these therapies requires rigorous therapeutic monitoring and follow-up, and the development of specific tools for quality control is essential.

AseBio. Tailor-made biological reagent solutions are manufactured to meet specific research needs, especially in the area of biomedical medicine. What is Promega's role in this field?

Iván Marcos. Promega has always defined itself as a company "by scientists for scientists". The fact that Promega works closely with researchers from different fields has favored the understanding and quick adaptation to the emerging trends within biomedical research, allowing us to position ourselves as one of the main providers of customized solutions for any biotechnological project.

In recent years, the needs within the biomedical field have changed radically, and Promega has been able to understand that, in this change, the researcher should not adapt to the existing tools on the market, but we are the companies that must bet on the development of innovative solutions that we think our customers may need in the next 5 years. 

For this reason, Promega's investment in R&D is constantly growing, allowing us to offer a wide range of tools to promote drug discovery and development carried out by the scientific community. In addition, in order to minimize the gaps that may remain unfilled, Promega has expanded its product portfolio with a range of customized services, aimed at supporting projects with more special characteristics.

AseBio. What does Promega expect from BIOSPAIN 2023?

Iván Marcos. BIOSPAIN is a must-attend event as it is the main event of the biotechnology industry at national level. As in previous editions, for us it is an ideal opportunity to disseminate the main novelties we have launched in recent months, but the main value we give to the BIOSPAIN meeting is to be able to interact with all those people that throughout the year we are in constant conversations, but it is more complicated to see you in person.

From our experience at Promega, BIOSPAIN has always proven to be a propitious meeting place to exchange ideas, establish collaborations and create connections with peers in the biotech world, so we are confident that in this edition we can continue to enjoy these conversations.

This year we are especially excited about the opportunity to organize this roundtable, for which we have assembled a group of experts to discuss the latest trends in specific tools to speed up drug discovery and development for Precision Medicine.