Innovative Approaches to Biomarker Discovery in the Drug Development Process

High-throughput sequencing technology such as RNASeq and whole genome sequencing has enabled deep characterization of health and disease states.  Biomarker discovery by these means has only had limited success translating to the clinic.  While these disease specific biomarker discoveries in cancer have been proven actionable, the magnitude of response to the indicated therapy tends to be variable across different patients and a portion of these patients ultimately develop drug resistance.  As such, robust biomarker discovery and development strategies are essential in the drug development process – not only to identify new therapeutic targets and identify patients that are likely to respond to therapy, but also identify patients that are likely to develop drug resistance.  Spatial biology technology, such as NanoString’s GeoMx, presents a unique opportunity for biomarker discovery in the drug development process and this type of biomarker discovery approach will be the focus of this presentation.

For research use only.  Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
 

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify challenges associated with biomarker discovery.

2. Discuss what spatial biology is, and why it is gaining so much attention right now.

3. Explain the unique benefits spatial biology can provide for biomarker discovery.