Pandemic Innovations Offer Potential To Drive Advances In Personalised Medicine

Phil Black - PII Editor 20/10/2021

325 2 minutes read

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New article discusses how COVID-19 biopharmaceutical innovations could drive advances in personalised medicine
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group shares insights from the Personalised Medicine Coalition

Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG), a global leader in fluid management technology, releases a new article discussing the potential for exciting advances in the field of personalised medicine made possible by progress in biopharmaceutical engineering during the pandemic.

The article features an exclusive interview from the renowned Dr. Edward Abrahams, President of the Personalised Medicine Coalition, based in Washington, D.C., accompanied by expert insights from industry leaders including Oxford Biomedica, Gemini Bio, Franz Ziel GmbH, and WMFTG.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaped our view of healthcare. COVID-19 has demonstrated how one disease can have wide-ranging outcomes, with some patients experiencing asymptomatic infection, some developing long-term conditions and some, sadly, experiencing severe illness and death.

These different consequences emphasize the importance of establishing a full understanding of a patient’s current health, environment, and genetic make-up to inform how best they can be treated. This forms the basis of personalised medicines, which use advances in genetics and bioinformatics to provide highly effective treatments for specific patient groups and introduce treatments for conditions for which no medicines currently exist.

“Personalized medicine’s chief purpose is to improve patient outcomes, but it also has the potential to significantly lower healthcare costs, which is vital with healthcare systems under pressure globally”, comments Dr. Edward Abrahams. In the US, the number of FDA-approved personalized medicines has increased from 5 in 2008 to 286 in 2021 – an increase of over 500%. However, development and manufacturing challenges still remain, as discussed in this article.

Bioprocessing remains a considerable challenge as much smaller scale facilities are required that allow high flexibility, precision and yield maximisation, whilst retaining top-of-the-range sterility and cross-contamination control.

To meet these demands, biomanufacturers are turning to flexible polymeric systems, with over 80% of biomanufacturers currently using single-use bioreactors during production. The article provides insights into WMFTG’s collaborative projects to meet biopharmaceutical needs, with a particular highlight on its work with Oxford Biomedica.

Jim Sanford, Life Sciences Sector Strategy Manager at WMFTG, comments, “Personalised medicine offers a paradigm shift in the way we treat diseases, but as such demonstrates significant manufacturing challenges. By working collaboratively with drug developers, we can better understand the requirements of these novel processes and develop and adapt technologies to solve these problems.”

The pandemic has demonstrated how interdisciplinary and inter-organisational collaboration accompanied by fast-track regulatory approvals can allow rapid development of new technologies to overcome challenges. This article discusses the potential for developments made during the pandemic to be adapted for use in personalized medicine.

Dr. Edward Abrahams stresses that we must not waste the current momentum in medical innovation. “Pharmaceutical companies need to take advantage of this biotech funding boom to target investment towards personalized therapies”, comments Abrahams.

Download the full article to gain further insights. WMFTG has also hosted a webinar discussing innovations in personalised medicine and how the pandemic is driving rapid advances in bioprocessing. Watch the webinar online now to hear directly from these experts on how the bioprocessing industry can help accelerate personalised medicine.