From human genes to human testing

While the promise of genomics has been to enhance drug discovery and add to the number of therapeutics entering the clinic, the realization of that promise will require solid clinical data and some additional business strategy on the part of genomics companies.

Last week, Human Genome Sciences Inc. announced what it believes is the first clinical trial of a therapeutic discovered using genomics technology. The lead compound, HG00300 myeloid progenitor inhibitory factor-1 (MPIF-1), has come full circle from human gene to human therapeutic and could demonstrate whether therapeutics discovered via genomics have an advantage over drugs discovered using other approaches...