Can Nanotech Be a Game-Changer for In Vitro Diagnostics?
Article preview reprinted from Start-Up - November, 2008
People have awakened to the opportunities in diagnostics. Molecular information offers the potential for increased test sensitivity, and reduced upfront sample prep using nanotechnology could provide the means for many gene- and protein-based diagnostic tests to transition out of the central lab.
Can Nanotech Be a Game-Changer for In Vitro Diagnostics?
Article preview reprinted from Start-Up - November, 2008
For a generation, the promise of molecular medicine has mostly focused on novel therapeutics designed to take advantage of a patient's unique genotype. When it comes to diagnostics, "people have rather spent money developing bigger boxes with random access to samples and more menus of things on them than doing the work of identifying the most informative markers for a disease state," suggests Noubar Afeyan, PhD, managing partner and CEO at Flagship Ventures. That said, the billions of dollars that have gone into genomics research are finally beginning to bear fruit, says Afeyan. He predicts that the near-term payout will not be novel drugs, but enabling prognostic tests, response markers, screens, and other tools. And thanks to a recent spate of acquisitions--Digene Corp. to Qiagen NV, Biosite Inc. to Inverness Medical Innovations Inc, and Ventana Medical Systems Inc. to Roche —investors are generating returns in the diagnostics arena thought to be impossible 20 years ago.
More than anything else, the realization that diagnostics represent a more straightforward path to market for molecular information has awakened people to the field's opportunities. As entrepreneurs struggle with the best way to develop this knowledge, they can choose between developing tools that systematically identify novel markers and deliver them or advances that improve the measurement capability, sensitivity, and automation of the platforms themselves. Emerging nanotechnologies may enable both. And by improving test speed and ease of use, presumably at lower overall cost, nanotech may move point-of-care (POC) diagnostics out of the theoretical and into the mainstream, redefining the relationship between testing and the patient in ways not thought possible.
Purchase this 5768-word article online as a PDF for just $125 and receive it immediately via email. Questions? Call (800) 332-2181. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Companies mentioned in this article:
Abbott Laboratories Inc.
Affymetrix Inc.
ParAllele BioScience Inc.
Genomic Vision Harvard University
Helicos BioSciences Corp.
Illumina Inc.
Inverness Medical Innovations Inc.
Biosite Inc. Invitrogen Corp.
Applied Biosystems Inc.
Applied Biosystems Group
Agencourt Personal Genomics
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Motorola Inc.
Motorola Life Sciences
Myriad Genetics Inc. NanoMR Inc.
Nanosphere Inc.
Nanosys Inc.
Northwestern University Qiagen NV Quanterix Corp.
Roche Roche Diagnostics
454 Life Sciences Ventana Medical Systems Inc.
T2 Biosystems Inc.
Tufts University University of California University of California
Santa Barbara University of Michigan
START-UP: No publication reviews leading edge companies and technology better than START-UP. Each issue of START-UP profiles the most important new product companies, identifies the hottest technology areas, reviews funds flowing into private companies and investment trends, and reports on university tech transfer licensing. Industries covered: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical equipment & devices, and in vitro diagnostics. Subscribe to START-UP.
