New Era of Opportunity: Precision Medicine
Some call it genetic testing. For others, it’s DNA sequencing. But no matter how you want to phrase it, the era of precision medicine has arrived.
A patient’s diagnosis and treatment are now based on their individual genetic characteristics.
That’s because the convergence of high-powered computers and breakthroughs in the field of genetics is making this new paradigm of health care a reality for everyone.
Cracking the Genetic Code
In 1977, a Cambridge scientist named Frederick Sanger sequenced DNA for the first time.
By running an electric current through a gel into cell tissue, he found that DNA contained a sequence of molecules in specific patterns.
Even though it was only possible to sequence a small amount of DNA at a time, Sanger’s discovery was the genetic science equivalent of the moon landing. It started the race to crack the genetic code.
It was a small step for a man, a huge step for mankind.
In the next decade, the National Institutes of Health launched the Human Genome Project.
Its lofty goal was sequencing and mapping the first human genome. The project cost $2.7 billion and took 13 years to complete.
At the same time, a science entrepreneur named Craig Venter discovered an even faster approach.
The race to find a cheaper alternative to genome sequencing was on.
And along the way, something incredible happened…
Genetic Testing for Everyone
The quest to cheaply map the human genome converged with computing speeds that were improving exponentially.
This faster, cheaper computational power dramatically dropped the cost of sequencing the genome at a pace no one could have anticipated.
Think about this for a moment…
In the early 2000s, it cost about $100 million to decode one individual’s genome.
Ten years later, when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs found out he had pancreatic cancer, he spent $100,000 to unlock his genome.
Jobs was trying different treatments and hoped DNA would provide clues about where to turn next.
Even if you don’t have Jobs’ fortune, breakthrough technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are making a full genetic screen possible for less than $1,000.
Companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com even offer take-home tests that link your DNA to distant relatives. They can also check your genetic risk for certain diseases.
You can buy a take-home test today for as little as $99.
But the precision medicine market expands beyond these two examples. In fact, it has the potential to grow to $54.4 billion by 2025.
Invest in the Rise of Precision Medicine
Because of technological improvements and declining costs, the genetic testing market is expected to grow nearly sixfold in the next decade.
That’s an increase from $12.68 billion in 2019 to $72.13 billion in 2030.
In other words, it’s a staggering compound annual growth rate of 17%!
Precision medicine will be a key player in the rise of the Great American Reset. As the country recovers from the devastating effects of the coronavirus, precision medicine will be growing in leaps and bounds to make sure that such a pandemic never happens again.
Thanks to this technology, such diseases will be detected and treated before sweeping across the globe.
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