โGene therapy is hot right now.
The human genome wasย sequenced in 2003ย for $2.7 billion USD. ย In 2018, it costsย less than $1,000ย to sequence a human genome and this cost is expected to decrease toย less than $100ย in the near future. ย
Welcome to the future of precision medicine.
According to the National Institutes of Health,ย precision medicineย is treatment โthat takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person." ย
In a few short years, weโve progressed from measuring the genome to identifying single-gene disorders, to the precision treatment of those disorders. ย
Gene-editing/Gene-therapy in precision medicine
Gene-therapy and gene-editing are experimental therapies being tested for diseases with genetic sources, and poor alternatives for treatment.
Gene therapyย is when a genetic condition is treated byย insertingย a gene into a patientโs cells. This could inactivate a mutated gene, replace it with a healthy version, or introduce a new gene that helps fight disease.
Gene editingย is when a gene therapy inserts, deletes, or replaces DNA/RNA at a specific site in the genome using engineered nucleases or โmolecular scissorsโ.
CRISPRย is a type ofย fast, accurate, molecular scissors using a bacterial defense system enzyme called โCas9โ.
Clinical trials have shown strong evidence of efficacy for gene therapies in some genetic disorders such asย hemophiliaย andย Parkinsonโs disease. ย
Companies likeย Beam Therapeutics,ย Editas Medicine, andย Crispr Therapeuticsย are leading the charge to translate CRISPR therapies into commercial markets. They offer therapies as precise as โbase editorsโ โ excising single-letters in DNA and RNA base pairs.
So how does this exploding gene-therapy/gene-editing landscape affect Life Sciences recruiting?
The challenge for pharma & biotech
Itโs one thing to be good at the science, itโs another to understand the market.
Jonathan Kimmelmanย is a biomedical ethicist from McGill University. ย His book titledย ย Gene Transfer and the Ethics of First-in-Human Trials: Lost in Translationย was published in 2010 and explored the ethical and policy issues presented by gene therapy. ย
We asked him to address the issues faced by up-and-coming biotech startups seeking to commercialize their products in pharma. He addressed two key challenges the gene-therapy/gene-editing industry is facing: cost and sustainability.
โFor a small set of disorders gene therapy mayโover the next ten yearsโ become part of the standard toolbox,"ย explains Jonathan.ย โThe big challenge for the industry from my standpoint as an ethicist is to find a way to make these breakthroughs accessible to people who need them.โ
This means recruiting gene-therapy/gene-editing experts who have competencies at translating their therapies to a wider audience. ย
So what does this look like?ย
โPeople who are looking to score not short-term victories but long-term victories,โ Jonathan states succinctly. ย โGene therapy experts with a certain amount of humility about what they're trying to do. They need to recognize how immense the challenges are.ย People who recognize that drugs are only useful if people who can access them and really understand the patient experience of the disease.โ ย
This is a difficult scientific topic. Itโs a rarity to find a scientist with the niche competency to be conversant in gene-editing/gene-therapy and the ability to understand the societal and financial implications of their work.
Yet that is exactly the kind of person biotech companies need to be recruiting.
What does this mean for recruitment?
A good Life Sciences recruiter can take your team to the next level because they have the connections to chart up-and-coming,ย real-wordย analytical talent outside of formal markers of knowledge.
Operating as part of the Phaidon International group,ย EPM Scientificย is a specialist staffing agency, wholly focused on permanent & freelance recruitment within the life sciences sector.
We are designed to enhance the connection between enterprise project management and recruitment services in complex drug & device development endeavors.
We place a heavy emphasis on quality. Our recruitment staffย areย specialists with an in-depth understanding of the market. We work with pharma, biotech, medical device, and CRO to provide candidates with unique competencies, including but not limited to: ย
Regulatory Affairs
Research & Development
Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Statistics, SAS programmers, Clinical Data Management
Clinical Operations
Clinical Development
Quality: Qualityย Assurance, Quality Control, Manufacturing, Process development
The right candidate for the right team takes skill and timing. ย If youโre a hiring manager in pharma or biotech looking to extend your team with gene-therapy/gene-editing capacities,ย or youโre a consultant with this expertise wishing to move into industry, we are happy to help you find the right fit.ย Please feel free to reach out directly at Contact.Us@epmscientific.com.
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