Single-cell and spatial technologies are changing how researchers understand disease biology, discover biomarkers and identify which patients are most likely to benefit from treatment. By revealing biological differences that traditional bulk profiling can overlook, these technologies could help accelerate drug development and enable more precise therapeutic decisions.
In a recent Oxford Global thought leadership interview, Jason Kim, Director of Biopharma at 10x Genomics, discussed how single-cell and spatial biology are redefining biomarker discovery, improving our understanding of treatment response and creating new opportunities for precision medicine.
Redefining Biomarker Discovery
Traditional bulk profiling provides an average molecular picture of a tissue sample, potentially masking important differences between individual cells.
Jason highlighted how small populations of cells can carry critical biological information that remains undetected in bulk measurements. These overlooked populations could influence drug efficacy, resistance or the overall success of a development programme.
Single-cell technologies allow researchers to identify these populations, while spatial technologies reveal where cells are located and how they interact within their tissue environment.
Together, these approaches are expanding biomarker discovery beyond individual molecular signatures towards a more detailed understanding of cellular diversity and disease mechanisms.
Understanding Why Patients Respond Differently
One of the most important challenges in precision medicine is understanding why patients with the same disease can respond differently to identical treatments.
Jason emphasised the importance of distinguishing responders from non-responders before treatment begins.
This is particularly relevant in oncology, where tumours can contain highly heterogeneous cell populations. Different regions of the same tumour may exhibit biological characteristics associated with both treatment response and resistance.
These findings raise important questions about the reliability of biomarkers derived from conventional tissue measurements.
By capturing cellular and spatial differences, researchers may be able to develop more informative biomarkers and improve patient stratification.
Moving From Discovery to Clinical Decisions
The next major opportunity is translating single-cell and spatial insights into clinical development and patient selection.
Jason highlighted the limitations of existing approaches to predicting treatment response, including studies where retrospective biomarker signatures have not translated into significantly better treatment decisions.
The ability to understand tumour heterogeneity before treatment could help clinicians identify patients most likely to benefit from particular therapies, including immunotherapies, and inform alternative treatment strategies.
However, the challenge is moving beyond retrospective research towards prospective clinical validation and practical implementation.
The ultimate objective is not simply to generate more detailed biological data, but to turn those insights into better clinical decisions.
The Next Frontier: Therapeutic Durability and Resistance
Looking ahead, Jason identified therapeutic durability as one of the most promising opportunities for single-cell and spatial technologies.
Achieving an initial response to treatment is only part of the challenge. Patients may subsequently experience relapse, disease recurrence or acquired resistance.
Understanding how cellular populations and disease biology evolve throughout treatment could help researchers identify resistance mechanisms earlier and develop strategies to sustain therapeutic benefit.
Although oncology remains a major focus, Jason believes these opportunities extend to other disease areas, including autoimmune conditions.
The long-term goal is to move beyond predicting initial treatment response towards understanding how to maintain it.
Looking Ahead
Single-cell and spatial biology are creating opportunities to redefine what constitutes a meaningful biomarker and how that information can support drug development.
For the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, the greatest value may come from connecting deeper biological understanding with better patient selection, more effective clinical development and longer-lasting therapeutic responses.
As Jason's insights highlight, the future of precision medicine will depend not only on identifying which treatments work, but understanding why they work, for whom, and for how long.
This article is based on an Oxford Global thought leadership interview with Jason Kim, Director of Biopharma at 10x Genomics, exploring the role of single-cell and spatial technologies in biomarker discovery, clinical development and precision medicine.
