personalized medicine

Biomarker Bulletin: October 10, 2011

October 10, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Biomarker Bulletin is an occasionally recurring update of news focused on biomarkers aggregated at BiomarkerCommons.org. Biomarkers are physical, functional or biochemical indicators of normal physiological or disease processes. The individualization of disease management — personalized medicine — is dependent on developing biomarkers that promote specific clinical domains, including early detection, risk, diagnosis, prognosis and predicted response to therapy.

Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery for Parkinson’s disease, a Satellite Symposium at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
A satellite symposium, Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery for Parkinson’s Disease, is being sponsored by Covance on November 13th, 2011 at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
NYAS Symposium: Biomarkers and Brain Imaging of Presymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease
The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) will be holding an afternoon event in January 2012 that focuses on biomarkers and brain imaging of presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
NIH to Support Clinical Trial Implementation or Biomarker Clinical Evaluation Studies
Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health announced that the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Institute will support mission-relevant investigator-initiated Phase I, II, III or IV clinical trial cooperative agreement applications or biomarker evaluation studies that require prospective collection of clinical outcomes and clinical specimens.
NIH to Fund Studies that Adapt Adult Biomarkers to Children
The National Institutes of Health announced Thursday that the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will support studies that propose adapting adult biomarkers to children.
CLC bio to Develop Bioinformatics Tools for Prostate Cancer Biomarker Project
CLC bio is participating in a $4 million Danish collaboration focused on the identification and validation of biomarkers of prostate cancer risk and aggressiveness.

Activation of the Immune System and the Nobel Prize for Medicine

October 4, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced on Monday. The prize was awarded to three scientists for their work on the body’s immune system.

The prize of 10-million-Swedish-krona (US$1.5-million) was divided, one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler, age 54, at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, and Jules A. Hoffmann, age 70, at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology in Strasbourg, for their discovery of receptor proteins that can recognize bacteria and other microorganisms and activate innate immunity, and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman, age 68, at Rockefeller University in New York, for his discovery of dendritic cells of the immune system and their unique capacity to activate and regulate adaptive immunity, the later stage of the immune response during which microorganisms are cleared from the body.

[Continue Reading]

A Step Toward Personalized Asthma Treatment, Gene Variant Linked to Drug Response

September 26, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Inhaled corticosteroids are used by millions of asthma patients every day. However, as with all treatments to control asthma, there is marked patient-to-patient variability in the response to treatment. New research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has identified a genetic variant associated with the response to inhaled corticosteroids [1]. Investigators have found that asthma patients who have two copies of a specific gene variant responded only one-third as well to steroid inhalers as those with two copies of the regular gene.

[Continue Reading]

Biomarker Bulletin: August 23, 2011

August 23, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Biomarker Commons Named World Companion Diagnostics Summit Media Partner
Diagnostics used to select patients for treatment with a particular therapeutic or determine what and/or how treatment will be administered have been termed companion diagnostics. Companion diagnostics hold great promise for personalized medicine. A companion diagnostic is a biomarker(s) used in a specific context that provides biological and/or clinical information that enables better decision making about the development and use of a potential therapeutic. Given the significance of companion diagnostics, I’m proud to announce Biomarker Commons’ first media partnership with the 4th World Companion Diagnostics Summit.
Personalized Medicine or Patient-centered Care?
Personalized medicine is a term used in science and medicine that holds significant promise of administering medicines specifically tailored to an individual’s genome or metabolism. However, an editorial published yesterday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) suggests that the term creates an image for the public that is completely opposite of science and technology and sets up unrealistic expectations.
FDA, EMA Seek Input on Companion Diagnostics, Genomic Biomarkers
Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have each posted requests for public comment on issues affecting the development of medicines by drug companies.
FDA Issues New Guidelines on Clinical and Nonclinical Genomic Biomarkers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new guidelines on biomarkers related to drug or biotechnology product development. The guidance was developed within the Efficacy Working Group of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH).
Neuroimaging Identifies an Endophenotype and Candidate Biomarker for Autism
In response to facial expression of emotional, a similar pattern of brain activity is observed in both people with autism and their unaffected siblings. Researchers from the University of Cambridge recently used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a specialized MRI scan used to measure the change in blood flow related to neural activity in the brain, to show that reduced activity in areas of the brain associated with empathy and face processing is a candidate biomarker for familial risk of autism. The findings were published online recently in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Biomarker Bulletin: July 5, 2011

July 5, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

TCGA Study Brings Ovarian Cancer Patients Closer to Personalized Medicine
In the June 30 issue of Nature, researchers from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network provide a large-scale integrative report on genetic mutations and pathways that distinguish the most common and aggressive type of ovarian cancer from other types of ovarian cancer as well as from other solid tumors. The disease is not defined by one or few cancer-driving genes but rather numerous mutations that individually occur in only a small number of cases. Given the degree of genomic disarray, the study results suggest that genomic structural variation is the driver of ovarian cancer. The findings may be helpful in guiding physicians to choose experimental treatments that are most likely to target molecular alterations effectively in patients with high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma.
BGI Expanding Proteomics Services to Include Mass Spectrometry
Earlier this month, Adam Bonislawski at GenomeWeb’s Proteomonitor reported that China-based BGI intends to expand its proteomics offerings and buy ~50 new mass spectrometers over the next two years. This diversification into clinical and drug-development services is a forward-thinking move for the genomics/bioinformatics giant and one that should be taken seriously by current proteomics service providers.
DHMRI Establishes Immune Monitoring Laboratory for Biomarker Discovery and Development
Last week, the David H. Murdock Research Institute (DHMRI) announced that it acquired the Immune Tolerance Institute, Inc. (ITI) as a next step in its continued growth. The DHMRI provides integrated, state-of-the-art genomic, cellular, proteomic and bioinformatics technology platforms as a major resource for a range of academic and industry partners undertaking both preclinical and clinical research.
NINDS to Fund Biomarker Clinical Study for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Earlier this month, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) announced a funding opportunity and invited applications for a study of candidate biomarkers in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The goals of the SMA biomarker validation study are to: (1) evaluate biomarkers and clinical outcomes longitudinally across a spectrum of SMA cases; (2) establish a clinical outcomes and biomarker database; and (3) contribute samples to the NINDS biorepository at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research to capture and share methods and pre-competitive data.
SciClips Launches Biomarker and Drug Discovery Protocols Database
SciClips is an open innovation platform that enables scientists and researchers to collaborate and share research and ideas. Following up on a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker database released earlier this year, SciClips has launched a second database constisting of biomarker and drug discovery research protocols.