AstraZeneca is committed to bringing precision medicine to those suffering from chronic diseases. Junmei Cairns, Associate Director and precision Medicine Lead at AstraZeneca has worked in the field for decades and suggested that precision medicine should be applied to non-oncology areas.
By using multiomics, scientists can enhance their knowledge of disease pathophysiology and subtypes of diseases. The main aim is to combine biomarker identification and use this to develop a diagnostic assay that physicians and healthcare providers can use to measure certain biomarkers to target specific subsets. Cairns said: “This approach can ensure that our patients are getting the tailored treatment they need that is customised to their specific and unique biological characteristics.”
Since the 2010s, AstraZeneca has delivered the first precision medicine, and over the last 15 years diagnostics have been delivered alongside medicine to ensure the medicine is targeting the correct patient population at launch. AstraZeneca’s line of action deploys clinical trial assays to identify patient populations in clinical trial stages and reach broader patient populations at launch with diagnostic tests that can identify or target patient populations.
So, what are the opportunities for multiomics in chronic disease? Like many conditions chronic diseases are heterogeneous and the complexity of the disease pathology is not well understood. Unlike cancers, the molecular characteristics of chronic diseases are harder to define and understand which creates barriers and challenges for delivering precision medicine.
In spite of the challenges Cairns remained optimistic and stated that 90% of AstraZeneca’s pipeline adopts precision medicine or explores a precision medicine approach. By partnering with academic centres and diagnostic companies the company can gather the required expertise to develop and deliver a diagnostic so that they have a tool at the time of launch to identify the right patient for the right treatment.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is presented as a prime example of where precision medicine holds profound potential. The disease impacts over 480 million patients and is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Cairns stressed thinking beyond a “one-size fits all approach” treatment must be tailored, and anticipated a lot of trial and error. Targeting specific biological markers like MPO (myeloperoxidase) can change the treatment paradigm, and rapid point-of-care diagnostics can provide timely results to inform treatment decisions.
There is still uncertainty and concerns around fitting the diagnostic assay into the patient journey and identifying patients with a particular disease driver in a timely and cost-effective manner. Traditional immunoassays take up to several days to generate result reports so it would be 8usefull to have an informative and quicker decision from caregivers to know what treatment patient needs and which biomarkers are needed to prescribe certain medications.
Cairns carried out a feasibility study to measure the circulation of a biomarker with a point-of-care device. The study showed that there are non-invasive ways to get samples from COPD patients and the test results are generated in 10 – 15 minutes. This shows that there is a massive opportunity to bring patient-centric care to chronic disease.
Cairns argued that precision medicine in oncology has opened doors and allowed us to understand the value of precision medicine. It is just the beginning of the precision medicine journey for non-oncology diseases. She concluded with an optimistic outlook on the future of precision medicine in chronic diseases. Overall, she emphasized the need for continued investment, regulatory support, and collaboration to make precision medicine a reality for chronic disease patients.
