Disruptive But Profitable: PricewaterhouseCoopers Projects 11 Percent Annual Growth for Personalized Rx

December 09, 2009

According to one of the world's largest professional services firms, the trend toward tailoring drugs based on clinical factors and genomic variation will create opportunities and challenges for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that the market for "a more personalized approach to health and wellness will grow to as much as $452 billion by 2015."

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Young Investigator Profile

Remo Rohs

Principal Investigator
University of Southern California

Structure & Specificity

The Rohs lab is focused on studying the structural and biophysical basis of molecular mechanisms that mediate specific interactions between nucleic acids and proteins. They are generally interested in the mechanisms of protein-nucleic acid interactions expands to single-stranded DNA, protein-RNA binding, RNA-RNA interactions, the ribosome, and the impact of DNA methylation and histone modifications on nucleosome formation and transcription. The long-term goal of the Rohs lab is to better understand the dynamics of biological processes on the basis of specific interactions between biological macromolecules.
Blog

The Future of Supercomputing Software Libraries

When it comes to supercomputer software libraries for big data research, the future is full of challenges.

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The pending US payroll tax cut plan may include payment cuts to clinical labs.

February 16, 2012

This Week in Experimental and Molecular Pathology

In Experimental and Molecular Pathology this week: matrix metalloproteinase expression in cutaneous cancer and more.

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Patents, Patents Everywhere

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Papers of Note

MiR-34 Modulates Aging and Neurodegeneration in Drosophila
Liu, Landre et al., Nature
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania show that miR-34 "regulates age-associated events and long-term brain integrity in Drosophila." In its analysis, the team uncovered evidence that "miRNA-dependent pathways may have an impact on adult-onset, age-associated events by silencing developmental genes that later have a deleterious influence on adult life cycle and disease." The Penn team adds that miR-34 may be important in those processes.

miR-511-3p Modulates Genetic Programs of Tumor-Associated Macrophages
Squadrito, Pucci et al., Cell Reports
A team led by investigators at the San Raffaele Institute in Milan, Italy, shows that endogenous microRNAs, like miR-511-3p, "may operate to establish thresholds for inflammatory cell activation in tumors." In its paper, team says that "miR-511-3p modulates genetic programs of tumor-associated macrophages," and identifies direct targets of the miRNA. "Enhancing miR-511-3p activity in TAMs [tumor-associated macrophages] may represent a therapeutic strategy to reprogram them from a protumoral to an antitumoral phenotype," the authors write.
People on the Move

Randy Scott will lead a new subsidiary at Genomic Health that will focus on integrating genomic data into clinical practice for patients with common and rare genetic conditions. Scott will step down as Genomic Health's executive chairman but will remain a board member, while CEO Kim Popovits will assume the role of chairman.

Scott is a founder of Genomic Health and was previously CEO of the company. He also founded Incyte, where he served in various positions including chief scientific officer; and has served as senior director of research at Invitron.

Genomic Health has also appointed Julian Baker to be lead independent director. Baker has served on the firm's board since 2001 and is a managing partner at Baker Brothers Investments. He is also a director of Incyte, Neurogen, Theravance, and Trimeris.

Life Technologies this week named Alan Sachs as head of global research and development and Ronnie Andrews as president of medical sciences.

Sachs was previously the vice president of exploratory and translational sciences for Merck Research Laboratories, where he spent 10 years in various leadership roles, Life Tech said. Prior to that Sachs served an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a Whitehead fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

Andrews joins Life Tech from GE Molecular Diagnostics, where he served as a segment leader following GE's 2010 acquisition of Clarient, where Andrews was CEO. Andrews has also held executive positions with Abbott Diagnostics, Roche Diagnostics, and Immucor.
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Feb 19-23 / San Francisco
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Science
In a twist on the tumor-sequencing studies done in the past, an international team led by investigators at Washington University used targeted sequencing of expressed tumor transcripts to explore ways in which the host immune system "immunoedits" cancer cells. Results from the study indicated that T cells in the immune system efficiently destroy tumors with easily recognizable "rejection antigens" — in the case of mouse sarcomas, a mutated form of spectrin-beta2.
Business
Illumina reported a 4 percent decline for its fourth-quarter revenues, which was expected, and its board of directors also unanimously rejected Roche's offer to acquire the firm for $44.50 per share. "At this juncture, we believe the only course of action consistent with those principles is to vigorously resist Roche's blatantly opportunistic attempt to acquire Illumina at a grossly inadequate price," Illumina officials said in a letter to Roche Chairman Franz Humer.
Funding
Research into Alzheimer's disease will get a $130 million shot in the arm over the next two years under a new Obama Administration plan unveiled this week, and DNA sequencing-based studies will be a core part of the new efforts. NIH will immediately pump an additional $50 million into Alzheimer's studies this year, with the funds coming from the current NIH budget, and another $80 million in the 2013 budget will be marked for more such studies.
Genome Technology Magazine
A number of microRNAs have been linked to the initiation and progression of various cancers, as they are involved in development and regulation. With their broad reach, miRNAs show promise both as tools to diagnose cancers and predict prognosis, and as targets for treatment or a therapy themselves. But before miRNA signatures can be used in the clinic, they must be validated, and best practices must be established for their collection and testing. And what they reveal should, ideally, inform patients and their physicians about a course of action.

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Disruptive But Profitable: PricewaterhouseCoopers Projects 11 Percent Annual Growth for Personalized Rx

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Young Investigator Profile

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