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Genomics-driven research & diagnostics impacts current practice of medicine in India: MedGenome CEO
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
January 01 , 2017
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The impact of genomics-driven research and diagnostics is seen to have a
bearing on the current practice of medicine in India, which is
witnessing a discontinuity in the medical diagnostics space with the
advent of advanced genetic technologies impacting the healthcare
industry. With a boost in the spending on biotechnology and life science
ventures, both government labs and private entities are bringing in new
tests addressing rare as well as common diseases, said Girish Mehta,
CEO of MedGenome India and Asia.
Genomics-based diagnostics have
been able to provide pin-point accuracy something which was not possible
through conventional methodologies resulting in the increasing
acceptance and usage of precision medicine, he added.
India today
can boast of world-class infrastructure supported by manpower trained
in science which has resulted in the local processing of most genetic
tests. The past 5 years have seen increased clinical awareness and the
usage of genetic test reports to aid clinical decisions related to
disease areas such as oncology, neurology, gynaecology, ophthalmology,
nephrology, etc. The steep decline in cost of these tests and its easy
availability in India have been some of the key factors which have
driven the growth of the genomics-based diagnostics industry, Mehta told
Pharmabiz in an email.
Sharing his insights on the performance
of genomic diagnostic industry and its future prospects, Mehta pointed
out that the availability of Illumina’s X-10 NGS (Next generation
sequencing) machines has reduced the sequencing of whole human genome to
a few days that too at very affordable cost of US$1500.
Combined
with exponential increase in availability of data on pathogenic gene
mutations have led to meaningful and usable clinical reporting. For
instance, cancer chemotherapy is soon going to be a thing of the past.
Early genetic screening aided by information on the genes help in
accurate diagnostic applications like targeted therapies in oncology
which are becoming more available with over 100 different treatment
lines and drugs in clinical trials. “With such approaches, there will be
a growing demand for precision medicine that will accelerate the growth
of the genomic industry. In fact this sector garnered an over 50 per
cent growth in India and abroad, isolating US and China. Going forward
this momentum will continue,” he said.
India has seen a huge
increase in companies entering genomics-driven services to offer varied
genetic tests ranging from prenatal to disease prediction at competitive
prices. This together with a growing awareness about these tests in the
medical fraternity, could further lower the cost and that could impel
its implementation by government agencies such as CGHS. All this could
only bolster the promising growth prospects of the sector, said Mehta.
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