A new revolution in Life Science and Healthcare called “Microbiome”

Any new development in life science and healthcare starts with baby steps and slowly but surely takes the world by storm. Whether it is small molecule based, high-end genomics guided targeted cancer therapy or the immuno-checkpoint inhibitors which are taking cancer treatment to the next level of personalization and precision.

In the last decade one small buzz word has created quite a noise and is bringing hope that indeed wellness and personalized treatment is a possibility – enter the world of the “microbiome”. The term microbiome means the entire genome of the microbiota ecosystem. The advent of microbiome research parallels the advancement in next generation sequencing (NGS). Before NGS came into the picture, microbiology-based study could rely only on culturing microorganisms in the lab which had its own drawbacks. Now, with advanced sequencing technologies and smart algorithms it is possible to dissect the microbial ecosystem without the need to culture microorganisms in the lab.

Human intestine harbors the maximum number of commensal organisms which are into a delicate relationship with the host. It is therefore not a surprise that maximum gut microbiota based studies are published which look into how gut microbiota plays an important role in human health and wellness.

Do you know:-

Ø   Metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples has identified 3.3 × 10⁶ nonredundant  microbial genes from up to 1,150 different species, outnumbering human protein-coding genes by about 150-fold

Ø     Each person is estimated to host at least 160 different species 

Ø  In 2007, only 14 NIH grants contained the word “microbiome” in their titles or abstracts, and the number went up to 1,043 in 2017

Ø   More than 10000 papers published in the last 3 years on “gut microbiota”

With new studies and developments in the gut microbiome space, it would suffice to say-

“If eyes are the windows to the soul, then gut microbiome is the window to your health”

The industry has also taken a leaf and are dwelling into various aspects of the microbiome space. Companies like Leucine Rich Bio (India), Day Two (Israel), Viome (USA), UBiome (USA), Microba (Australia) etc. are taking the developments in the research to consumers directly by providing easy to use at home gut health tests. And there are companies like Enterome (France), Vedanta Bioscience (USA), Seres Therapeutics (USA) etc. that are looking into tapping the therapeutic potential of the microbiome and thus bringing new paradigms in treatment of various type of cancer, IBD, IBS etc.

Investors especially in the Western world have and are putting lot of faith in these new age companies. Most notably Seventure Partners that have funded a slew of microbiome companies in Europe and the US.

Although, lot many research and studies will be needed in future to validate the interesting leads that the microbiome domain throws up yet it is pertinent that all stakeholders especially clinicians and investors in Asia also support this with less skepticism and more openness as the success of the microbiome can lead to a new era of healthcare and wellness

 

Synthetic Biomarkers – a new buzz word in the area of modern diagnostics

Biomarkers are the Holy Grail for detecting diseases. Natural biomarkers are sought after molecules for effective screening of patients. Biomarkers include detection of proteins, RNA, DNA to now even micro RNAs. However, detection of natural biomarkers is fraught with issues of specificity, feasibility , price etc.

Now, a new set of research is employing the idea of nano-particles conjugated peptides. Since many disease states are characterized by dysregulated protease activity, the synthetic probe acts by stimulating this response thereby releasing the peptides that can be non-invasively detected. The nanoparticle is introduced and allowed to accumulate in diseased tissue where it is cleaved by the overactive proteases. This cleavage releases the peptides into the host’s urine, where it can be detected using either simple ELISA or mass spectrometry. Synthetic biomarkers provide the flexibility, ease and specificity that a modern day diagnostic lab would demand. In fact, promising results have already been observed to monitor liver fibrosis and detect early stage cancer. This noninvasive urinary monitoring could prove applicable to many diseases that feature protease dysregulation, including cancer, atherosclerosis, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s disease and may also detect many of these diseases much earlier than the traditional biomarkers.

  Image - ACS Nano, 2013, 7 (10), pp 9001–9009

The recent news of a paper based assay to detect cancer (colorectal at this point of time) and thrombosis is a very important step in the direction of non-invasive ‘synthetic biomarker’ based diagnostics. This is even more significant for poor countries where population cannot afford high cost diagnostics that might not even be accurate enough for the cost of the assay. Therefore, I believe the field of nano-particles and synthetic biomarkers can be given more encouragement not only from the Government but also from the various aid agencies to improve upon the technology and help bring the products to the market much faster.

Mental illness - an appalling state of affairs

Depression is a simple word but has a devastating meaning. It is a disease which ruins not only the individual but also affects the entire family. Particularly in today’s day and life when stress (both professional and personal) is slowly gripping the society, cases of depression have been skyrocketing.  Talking about mental illness however, has been a taboo in our society. People afflicted with such diseases are socially boycotted. It is time when people, government realized the impact such an ailment has on the society. Western countries are a shade better when it comes to the acceptance of mental ailment and availability of healthcare workers, psycho analysts and psychiatrists to deal with such issues. But it is in an appalling state in our country.

The area of research and treatment in this field is also fraught with naivety and is not very advanced. Even there are no credible biomarkers to diagnose such ailments; it solely depends on the profiling done by the psychiatrist. We still do not know the mechanism of action of some of the drugs and doubts persist about their effectiveness as therapies. Patients even avoid taking these drugs as they are unsure of the possible ‘side-effects’ of these molecules. Yes, research on brain is a very difficult proposition, yes; it requires cutting edge technologies probably in the edge of what science can offer today and yes we are years if not probably decades away from a ‘cure’ to most of these ailments. But having said that, are we spending enough in this field? Are the pharma companies/Governments doing enough? Of course the cash cows for the industry remains cancer, diabetes etc. but if do not look deeper into the problem and increase funding and research into this field then the cost of dealing with the outcome would be dangerously high!