Dr. Leen Kawas Highlights Precision Medicine Developments and Discusses 5 Emerging Trends

Leen Kawas
5 min readAug 9, 2024

--

As the global biotechnology industry continues its steady expansion, drug development trends often receive much of the spotlight. Emerging medications’ applicability to specific diseases and chronic conditions may provide millions of patients worldwide with new hope.

The biotech sector has also been increasingly focused on precision medicine advancements. Precision medicine research is geared to delivery of targeted disease treatments. Precision medicine could also enable tailored patient therapies in the mainstream healthcare arena.

Leen Kawas, Ph. D. is Propel Bio Partners’ Managing General Partner. Dr. Kawas previously served as biotech firm Athira’s Chief Executive Officer (or CEO). During her Athira tenure, Dr. Kawas successfully managed multiple drug development cycles. She offered insights into precision medicine developments and highlighted five emerging precision medicine trends.

Precision Medicine in Perspective

The terms “precision medicine” and “personalized medicine” are often regarded as the same thing.The National Research Council (or NRC) deems “personalized medicine” as an older term with a similar meaning to the newer “precision medicine.”

That said, NRC members have been concerned that personalized medicine could be construed as providing patient-specific preventions and treatments. Today, precision medicine concentrates on taking a targeted approach based on patients’ genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

Projected Precision Medicine Benefits and Challenges

Over time, precision medicine is predicted to bring wide-ranging impacts to the healthcare community. Dr. Leen Kawas discussed five precision medicine benefits along with four emerging challenges.

Predicted Precision Medicine Benefits

  • Improved Understanding of Varied Diseases’ Risks and Onset Mechanisms
  • More Effective Approaches to Disease Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment
  • Enhanced Ability to Identify Optimal Patient-Specific Treatments
  • Better Physician Routine Medical Care Delivery via Patients’ Genetic and Associated Molecular Data
  • More Efficient Electronic Health Records Integration, Enabling Physicians and Researchers to More Quickly Access Relevant Medical Data

Potential Precision Medicine Challenges

  • Data-Sharing Protocols Must Protect Patients’ Privacy and Confidentiality
  • High Costs Associated with Large-Scale DNA Sequencing and Drug Development Integrating Genetic and Molecular Variations
  • Third-Party Payers that Challenge Targeted Drug Reimbursements
  • Healthcare Providers that Need Education to Accurately Determine Genetic Test Results, Link the Data to Disease Prevention or Treatment, and Inform Patients About This Treatment Approach

Precision Medicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The term “precision medicine” reflects American healthcare treatment’s more recent evolution. To illustrate, the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic ushered in nationwide lockdowns. These restrictions prevented many patients from seeing their healthcare providers in person. This far-ranging crisis sparked numerous innovative solutions.

Telehealth’s expansion, along with rapid health technological advancements, enabled many providers to deliver targeted virtual treatment. Today, many patients continue to expect treatment that differs from traditional medicine’s “one size fits all” approach. These expectations are helping to shape the foundation for ongoing precision medicine developments.

The Precision Medicine Initiative

The National Institutes of Health (or NIH) and other research facilities are cooperatively engaged in the Precision Medicine Initiative. This long-term research project endeavors to learn how an individual’s genetics, lifestyle, and environment can inform an optimal disease prevention or treatment protocol.

The Precision Medicine Initiative’s short-term goal is to identify additional precision medicine applications for cancer research. In the longer term, Dr. Leen Kawas said the Precision Medicine Initiative seeks to integrate precision medicine into all health and healthcare sectors.

The “All of Us” Research Program

To provide the data needed for achieving the longer-term goal, the National Institutes of Health launched the “All of Us” Research Program. This large-scale study involves over 1 million volunteers throughout the United States. Participants will provide biological samples, genetic data, and other health information.

Researchers will use these ultra-large data sets to study numerous diseases. To begin, scientists seek to better predict each disease’s risk factors and onset dynamics. Researchers also want to discover more effective diagnosis and treatment protocols.

5 Intriguing Precision Medicine Trends in 2024

Patients often experience different reactions to the same drug. Although some patients realize significant benefits, others can have potentially severe adverse reactions. A third group of patients may not notice much difference in their symptoms.

Today, precision drug solutions improve the chances of positive patient outcomes with fewer side effects. Dr. Leen Kawas highlighted five precision medicine trends that show promise during the near future.

Precision Oncology Techniques

In the cancer treatment arena, correctly classifying tumors and accurately predicting treatment results is a challenge. This often results in less-than-optimal patient outcomes.

Sophisticated genomic sequencing modalities use AI to study tumor profiles. Tailored treatments target cancer cells’ distinctive composition. Over time, this improves treatment accuracy and delivers more effective patient care.

Pharmacogenomics Advancements

Patients’ distinctive metabolisms and drug responses often result in ineffective treatments. Sometimes-severe adverse reactions can also occur. Dr. Leen Kawas noted that biotech startups are addressing these issues by analyzing the genetic variables influencing a drug’s effects.

Researchers are also designing tests that can predict specific drug responses. Guided medication choice and genetic makeup-based dosing are also in the mix. These developments help ensure that each patient receives the medication(s) most likely to help while least likely to trigger unwanted side effects.

Repurposed Drugs

Medical treatments often involve extended time frames or extremely high costs. Data inconsistency is also a concern. Drug repurposing, which identifies existing medications used for other conditions, may be useful.

Artificial intelligence (or AI) and machine learning can more efficiently predict potential drug interactions and side effects. Dr. Leen Kawas emphasized that this reduces drug development costs while getting a viable treatment to patients more quickly.

Regenerative Medicine

Traditional therapies often treat symptoms instead of a condition’s root cause. The increase in antibiotic-resistant disease strains and accelerated pathogen evolution also make effective treatment more difficult.

From this perspective, biotech startups are currently formulating regenerative medicine therapies. These modalities restore (or replace) compromised tissues and organs while also positively impacting symptoms. Current AI advancements enable more precise solutions that mesh with each patient’s molecular and genetic profile.

Rare Disease Diagnosis

Rare diseases are difficult to diagnose, as they often present with a non-specific set of symptoms. Misdiagnoses frequently occur, leading to delayed or unproductive treatments. Rare disease diagnosis innovations are making a difference. Examples include advanced genetic sequencing, wide-ranging patient databases, and sophisticated machine learning algorithms.

These techniques pinpoint rare conditions’ specific patterns and markers. Large-scale patient data analysis enables predictive insights. Physicians can then provide rare disease patients with more accurate and timely diagnoses. Dr. Leen Kawas noted that this opens the door to targeted therapies.

Precision Medicine’s Rapid Evolution

Multiple precision medicine advancements offer promising solutions to vexing patient treatment challenges. Dr. Leen Kawas’ work with Propel Bio Partners’ biotech clients provides a window into drug therapy development. She remains optimistic about precision medicine’s emerging capabilities and applications.

Originally published at https://losangelers.com on August 9, 2024.

--

--

Leen Kawas
Leen Kawas

Written by Leen Kawas

Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology and entrepreneur

No responses yet