Genomics is an area of technology that changes at an alarmingly rapid rate. It is difficult to locate samples of other fields that have undergone change at similar rates, but comparisons could are the evolution of computer technology within the last several decades or the rapid growth of Internet startups in the 90s. Unlike these examples, the growth of genome sequencing technology is limited to a certain technological sector, or at the very least, it’s been until now.
Sequencing technology is currently passing a critical point, of which the price of whole genome sequencing is in fact less than the price of owning a conventional panel of genetic tests. Although it is difficult to calculate a precise figure with this, it probably is based on the product range of $1K-$10K. Illumina’s HiSeq platform or IonTorrent’s Proton both promise genomic sequencing in this range, along with Complete Genomics. Even as we pass this point, genome sequencing moves from the realm of research technology to viable clinical diagnostic test.
The consequences of the change may be observed in the growing widespread interest in sequencing technology. While technologies of this type have revolutionized many areas of research within the last decade, their use within clinical settings has profound implications with this industry. Research applications can only just provide a small source of profits. Moving into clinical applications provides use of a much bigger quantity of capital, both because of the larger market and higher profit margins.
The clinical introduction of genome sequencing technology will change many aspects of healthcare within the next few years. Genética Genome sequencing could eventually take the place of a typical section of a patient’s healthcare record, in quite similar way as blood type and allergies to medication are used today. However, we’ve a lot of ground to cover before we get to this point. For entrepreneurs in this field, this equates to a selection of exciting opportunities.
While interpretation of genomic has been an important section of research, the growing utilization of this data in clinical fields will create a good demand for the unambiguous interpretation of results. Physicians want an unambiguous questions such as for instance disease predisposition, and they would like a trustworthy party to assume the responsibility for causeing the judgement. Recently, an increasing amount of companies have entered the area of genomic data interpretation, many of them small startups such as for instance Genformatic, a Bioinformatics company situated in Austin. Larger companies have begun to concentrate on providing these services. As this industry evolves, it is likely that more companies may enter this realm, and it is going to be interesting to observe how things develop in this area.
While a person with experience in Molecular Biology possesses the necessary skills to get ready and run libraries, a lot of things can go wrong in this process. Even yet in pure research applications, sample preparation is definitely an increasingly common service supplied by many different centers, along with boutique services, such as for instance Genome Organizer’s ChIP-Seq service. It’s not that researchers can’t perform these tasks, nevertheless when they’re readily available for a fee, they see little benefit to running these services for themselves. As genomic sequencing moves into the clinical realm, demand for such services can be likely to increase. You will find not many hospitals with the existing capability to perform basic sample preparation, and this represents a new section of opportunity in this field.
Among the greatest areas of uncertainty of this type today is how samples can get from physicians’ offices to sequencing centers, and who’ll inform patients of their results. Though medical school curricula may one day are the interpretation of genomic data, we’re not even close to that point today. Currently, even the administration and interpretation of Genetic tests is generally left to individuals in the field of Genetic Counseling, in collaboration with statisticians and specialists. Though it is likely that a selection of other professionals will take over the responsibility of the field in the foreseeable future, it is likely that in the near future, the growth can take place in this field.