Shaping the future of healthcare

Our current approach to medical care is not working: Every patient – and his or her disease – is unique. Only some respond to general treatments. For example, today’s conventional, non-targeted drugs only work for one-third of all cancer patients, in three out of ten Alzheimer patients, and only half of patients with diabetes[1]. That is why we need to radically alter our approach. 

When the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, it still cost 54 million US dollars to generate a human genome sequence. 12 years later, the costs for the same procedure were only 1,000 US dollars.[2] In the last few years, the costs and duration of these procedures could be even further reduced. Rapid progress in the area of DNA sequencing and other technologies resulted in a real data explosion: They can be used to determine the exact molecular causes of diseases. For example, in 2003, only 1,474 genes with known disease-causing mutations had been identified. In 2015, 2,973 of such genes could already be identified.[3] In 2003, there were only around 46 medicinal products with biomarkers on the market. 12 years later, this number had already risen to 132.[4]

However, in most cases, our genes only predict which diseases we might be susceptible to in the future – but ultimately, our real medical journey will be determined by the complex interaction of our genes, our lifestyle, and environmental factors. Scientists are therefore using highly advanced image processing and Omics technologies [5], combined with digital biosensors and mobile fitness and wellness equipment. This enables them to collect physiological and behavioral data on a large scale. This huge data volume can be combined and analyzed using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. In future, these will help to identify subtle, yet measurable indicators of diseases. 

Precision Medicine provides unprecedented potential for utilizing this continuously growing, increasingly precise information for medical screening, diagnosis and treatment of diseases – and for improving the health of every single patient. For implementation to be successful, various interconnected areas are necessary: the development of sophisticated tests which enable accurate diagnosis of a disease much earlier, a number of personalized preventative and delay measures, and a series of new drugs which are effective on molecular level and can treat an individual disease much more precisely and with less side effects.

We support people in each phase of their lives and help to create, improve, and extend life. We are discovering  
and developing groundbreaking new ideas in oncology; in immunology, we have successfully provided new approaches for diseases such as multiple sclerosis in past and present, and today, we are one of the worldwide leading companies in the field of fertility treatment.

The following stories will tell how we are contributing to the future of medical care: 

_{[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/726812/patients-for-which-a-certain-drug-is-ineffective-by-therapy-class/  
[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/726769/genome-sequencing-technological-advances/
[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/688473/discovered-genes-with-known-disease-causing-mutations/
[4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/726797/genomic-medicine-technological-advances/
[5] Genomics examines a person’s DNA blueprint; metabolomics involves looks at small molecules (metabolites); proteomics - explores protein molecules; and transcriptomics examines gene activity.
[6] https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2018/10/23/smart-wearables-market-to-double-by-2022-27-billion-industry-forecast/#65176b962656}