The Evolution of Future Medicine - WE Medicine - To Meet Unmet Medical Needs

Abstract

Currently many pharmaceutical and biotech companies are focusing primarily on the treatment versus the prevention of disease, with the exception of developing vaccines against infectious agents as preventative measurement. Developing small molecule medicines still largely applies a reductionist approach focused on a particular target and developing selective and potent chemicals aimed at it. The advancement of knowledge and modern technologies has facilitated the reductionist approach and led to the discovery of a few interesting targetoriented drugs with varying degrees of success, however this approach has not been satisfactory for the treatment of more complex, heterogeneous diseases which are often associated with the aging process [1]. It is recognized that the selected target in most cases is not only important for the pathogenesis of disease, but also plays an important role in the normal functions of the body. With highly potent chemicals used on long term basis, toxicity in normal tissues will often evolve. Furthermore, there is heterogeneity of the tissue target phenotype due to the degree of nutrients, including oxygen, and interaction among cells in the tissue [2]. Drugs could have a different impact on cells depending on its target phenotype or other cellular components. The response of targeted cells to drugs could `be different. This is clearly evident in cancer tissue (Figure 1).