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PROF ALISON WOOLLARD UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
There is still a lot of basic biology to get to grips with before we will understand how best to utilise genomic information to develop new therapeutic strategies. For example, how do we become a complex being of 40 trillion cells from one single cell? How do they all know how to work together? What is the molecular signature of each type of cell, and how can we best exploit this knowledge to reprogramme them?
To understand these processes we need to understand more about the functions of our genes. Studying a simple organism like the nematode worm can tell you an awful lot about complex organisms. In fact four out of fi ve species on earth are nematodes – they’re fast, they’re cheap, and you can screen for drugs. And model organisms are also a fantastic test bed for the development of new disruptive technologies, such as genome editing – paving the way for the possible ‘cure’ of genetic diseases by targeting the genetic mutation itself.
ALASTAIR KENT OBE DIRECTOR OF GENETIC ALLIANCE UK
For patients, advances in genomics mean a precise diagnosis at the molecular level, insights into fl aws in basic biology and access to personalised/stratifi ed medicines.
We are generating genomic data in unimaginable quantities – how do we make sense of it and what do we do with it?
To avoid another care data fi asco, patients and clinicians need access to clear and trustworthy information. And we need to get the societal engagement right – it’s not all about generating the money to fund research. Pharma and the research community need to better harness the expertise of patients and families in changing its model: not only do they bring valuable insight but samples, data, advocacy and, critically, public legitimisation.
PROF HILARY THOMAS
CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER, KPMG IN THE UK (FORMER ONCOLOGIST AND BREAST CANCER PATIENT)
The huge incremental pace of progress has had a massive impact and it’s no longer possible to be a generalist in oncology.
Eight years ago, when I was working as a clinician, I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer – but the huge generalisations made then about disease pathology defi ned me as a young, Afro-Caribbean woman with a poor prognosis! Since this time, treatment has been personalised to a greater extent than could ever have been imagined – unlike the earlier blunderbuss approach – with the patient group Breakthrough Breast Cancer now conducting trials in triple-negative breast cancer.
© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, and a member fi rm of the KPMG network of independent member fi rms affi liated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
GENOMICS
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