How Biological Sciences & technologies impact the industries (practical examples and details)

Biology and IT have a massive impact on many industries and life on our planet. This article builds on a previous whitepaper (link provided) and explains practical examples with more details related to key medical and key health areas. 

Biology & Technology bring unprecedented change to human health

Key Medical application with expected timelines

Biological sciences are advancing fast empowered by Data, Artificial Intelligence and computer processing. Below graph shows key applications within expected timelines.

Much of short-term impact will be on personalization and precision, because related technologies are relatively mature. The majority of economic impact will be in the area of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases ($500 to 1,150 billion): It includes monogenic diseases, cancer, polygenic diseases and regenerative medicine. The next area is Optimizing health & trains in future generations ($25-50 billion): Carrier screening for genetic disorders, PGS + NIPT for chromosomal disorders, Embryo screening and selection, Embryo editing. Improve drug development & delivery ($15-20 billion). Improve public health ($5-15 billion): Prevent infection disease and eradicate vector born diseases using gene drives and sequencing. Can save up to 700,000 lives annually.

Breakdown of biological applications

The biggest impacts is on cancer, which represents 9 percent of the global disease burden and accounted for one in six premature deaths in 2017.

Timeline for bio machine interfaces

The annual impact could be of $70 to $200 billion in the next 10 to 20 years

Example: Neuroprosthetics

Neuroprosthetics (NPs) establish stable systems between a machine and the patient’s nervous system to replace or restore neural inputs and outputs, and other treatments or diagnostic technologies that stimulate the brain or interpret its signals. NPs restore hearing, vision, enable/ extend body movements (people who have lost limbs or lost control of parts). Scientists at ETH Zurich have created sensors in bionic feet that send signals back to the tibial nerve in the leg, enabling patients to feel their prosthetic feet in real time. University of California, San Francisco, reported using neuroprosthetics to receive and interpret brain signals in the part of the motor cortex that controls the larynx. It was possible to identify the words in 80 percent of synthesized sentences. vision. French company Pixium Vision and Stanford University have produced infrared bionic vision implants. A microprocessor embedded in the eye takes infrared light and then translates it as electrical stimulation to underlying optic nerve cells. Impact on the pharmaceutical industry

"Today, the productivity of R&D is unsustainably low. The estimated average cost of bringing a drug to market (including drug failures) is now $2.6 billion, a 140 percent increase over ten years ago. Only about 12 percent of novel drugs entering clinical trials will successfully reach the market. Support from genomics could raise the cumulative probability of success from Phase 1 trials to regulatory approval from approximately 11 to 28 percent and reduce the cost of developing a new drug by about 50 percent. Selecting for patients more likely to respond to a drug reduces the necessary size of trials and therefore their cost. The total estimated annual global direct impact of all the technologies described could be between roughly $15 billion and $25 billion over the next ten to 20 years."

"Omics and molecular technologies can help in the identification of new molecular pathways and targets for new drug molecules, in selecting patients for clinical trials, in drug repurposing and reconditioning, and in the creation of experimental and predictive models for human health and disease. New technologies can play a significant role in reducing the time and cost of drug development and testing. “Organs on a chip”—microfluidic devices lined with living human cells that replicate the architecture and functions of living human organs—are one example. Combined with omics and molecular technologies data, these devices could be a high-throughput alternative to traditional animal testing for drug development and disease modeling. Improved predictive models could reduce R&D costs by more than 10 percent by improving success rates and making R&D more cost-effective. They could also narrow the gap between preclinical testing and human trials.

Read this article for details...

The pharmaceutical drug development has gone through waves of innovation. The first wave has focused on small molecules, nonrecombinant vaccines and natural extracts (still majority of products). The second wave focuses on peptides, monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. The third wave (much covered in this article) focuses on CART T-cell/ stem/ gene therapy and RNA-based therapeutics."

Read this article on intelligent drug discovery...

Impact on Health related consumer products & services

Consumer interests in health related issues has evolved. People have expanded from family tree and ancestry testing to exploring the genetic makeup related to talents, preferences, life styles, fitness and nutrition. Second-generation DTC genetic testing focuses on heath conditions, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. "A program conducted by the Shanghai Biochip Corporation to predict traits such as emotional control, focus, memory, and athletic ability, among others, based on genetic testing of children, emerged in 2009. More than 100 companies to enter the segment over the past five years. They include large players like Shenzhen-based WeGene and Beijing-based Novogene. DTC players are rapidly building awareness through China’s ubiquitous social media and e-commerce channels.

Some established beauty and personal-care companies have been conducting scientific research into the role of genomics and microbiomics in innovative anti-aging skin-care products, working in skin biology labs sometimes in collaboration with medical institutions. Researchers are also exploring microbial solutions to improve dental hygiene and beauty procedures based on the oral microbiome. For instance, probiotics derived from the dental plaque of healthy individuals sharply antagonize cariogenic bacteria (oral bacteria that cause tooth decay). Oral care probiotics could also deliver cosmetic benefits such as teeth whitening. For example, a recent clinical study found that mouthwash incorporating three natural hydrogen peroxide–producing oral bacterial strains has a statistically significant whitening effect.

Finding genetic cures for hair loss and skin wrinkles, rather than simply slowing down the process, is one of the most eagerly sought outcomes of innovative anti-aging skin-care companies. The most common form of genetic hair loss is androgenetic alopecia—also known as pattern hair loss—that by the age of 50 affects about half of males and one quarter of females. With gene therapy, hair follicles with DHT-sensitive cells could be changed into follicles with DHT-resistant cells, and the hair follicles would continue to grow new hairs for a lifetime.

Impact of Biology/technology to consumer health products & services

Conclusion

If you are interested in more Health Care and Life Sciences related content, you can refer to my other publications or reach out to me directly at alexwsteinberg@hotmail.com or WeChat (ID: alexwsteinberg2 )

About the author: Alex Steinberg comes out of a family of doctors, scientists and other health care professionals who have sacrificed their lives to improve the health & well-being of people around the world. Alex drives digital transformation, innovation and intelligent automation efforts for the largest brand companies in China.

Special credits: This article leverages text, content and graphics of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) including a marvelous 200 plus page document on "The Bio Revolution". Special thanks to their extremely valuable business, medical and scientific contribution!

Legal disclaimer: This article represents my personal opinion and does not reflect that of my current/ previous employer(s) or clients. The article intends to increase awareness, understanding and dialog about Health Care and Life Science issues. It does not present any offer or advice in a legal sense. Markets and technology change quickly and information gets out-of-date. The reader is advised to always seek individual analysis & consultation.