What is a Biomarker?
A biomarker, short for “biological marker,” is any measurable indicator of some biological state or condition.
Biomarkers are characteristics that offer insights into normal or pathological processes or responses to a therapeutic intervention.
Identifying them is especially useful in the realm of cancer, where biomarkers have been nothing short of revolutionary, as they pave the way for early detection, diagnosis, risk assessment, and the tailoring of treatment plans to individual patients’ needs.
The inclusion of a biomarker in the design of clinical trials has been found to increase the odds of meeting the trial endpoint and advancing to the next stage of development by 5-12x in the top five most prevalent cancers.
Yet, the success of biomarkers in predicting drug efficacy still falls short of the industry’s hopes and expectations. In this white paper, we explore the potential of RNA biomarkers in precision medicine.
Genialis focuses on RNA because gene expression-based biomarkers give us the best of both worlds: insight into disease drivers at the genome level and dynamic states defined by the transcriptome. The additional information on pathways and processes, especially compared with DNA or protein biomarkers, are especially relevant to predicting treatment outcomes of complex diseases.
Genialis prefers RNA biomarkers for several reasons:
- RNA is closer to the phenotype than DNA. Assessment of RNA reveals changes in gene expression associated with disease progression, mutation, drug response, chemical perturbation, etc
- RNA can be used to infer mutation status of coding genes in the same manner that DNA can.
- Data from total RNA sequencing contains high-dimensional information which can be leveraged to understand the biology of a given cancer with far more nuance than DNA alone.
- The standardization of RNA sequencing, the ability to multiplex many different tests from the same analyte combined with the ever-decreasing costs of sequencing makes transcriptomic biomarkers cost-effective for complex disease diagnosis, and clinical R&D.
Download the white paper to gain a deeper understanding of why we believe the future of RNA biomarkers is here.
Curious about how RNA biomarkers could help you? Read more about Genialis’ biomarker discovery framework ResponderID and the next-generation biomarker models we have built to aid the clinical development of potentially life-saving therapies.
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