12/05/2011 | Editor: Dominik Stephan
Personalised drugs and medicine could revolutionise the treatment of cancer patients – but they still have a long way to go. The Fifth Drug Development Forum in Wuerzburg served as a melting pot for researchers and industries.
Most Western societies, but also the population of several Asian states like Japan, are ageing. In the wake of this welcome development, age related illnesses move into the focus of attention.. Now genetic analysis offer a deeper understanding of cardiac insufficiencies and cancer – as a result, personalized drugs and treatments are likely to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry.
“Goals like these can not be achieved alone,” emphasized Prof. Dr. Josef Nassauer, CEO of the German technology organisation ‘Bayern Innovativ’. To unleash the true potentials that genetic researches could bring for the pharmaceutical industry, a close cooperation of institutes, industries and clinics would be necessary, Nassauer believes.
To bridge the gap between research institutes and pharmaceutical manufacturers, Bayern Innovativ held the ‘Fifth Drug Development Forum’ on December 1st at the Bavarian university town of Würzburg. About 160 professionals discussed topics from personalised medicine via antibody researches to the development of new biotechnological remedies.
Sequencing the genetic material of tumour cells led to a surprise: “We used to believe that a tumour consists of tumour cells and tumour cells only,” said Prof. Peter Lichter of the German Cancer Research Centre. “Now we know that that is not the case.“ The diversity of cancer cells poses a significant challenge for physicians and researchers, he continued. His solution: Understanding the molecular expression of the DNA.
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