{"id":59307,"date":"2025-11-17T21:28:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T15:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=59307"},"modified":"2025-11-18T14:50:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T09:20:05","slug":"precision-biotherapeutics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-11-2025\/precision-biotherapeutics","title":{"rendered":"Precision Biotherapeutics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Precision biotherapeutics<\/strong> bring together genetic science, molecular biology, and data analytics to design therapies that identify and rectify the cause of illness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are precision biotherapeutics?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Precision biotherapeutics refers to<strong> medical interventions<\/strong> that are designed and optimised <strong>based on a patient\u2019s unique genetic, molecular, or cellular profile<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The field draws on<strong> multiple technologies such as:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Genomic and Proteomic Analysis: <\/strong>Decoding a person\u2019s genetic and protein signatures to identify mutations or dysfunctions causing the disease.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gene Editing Therapies:<\/strong> Directly modifying genes to correct underlying problems (for example, CRISPR-based treatments for blood disorders).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>mRNA and nucleic acid therapeutics: <\/strong>Using RNA molecules to instruct cells to produce specific proteins or suppress harmful ones.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monoclonal Antibodies and biologics: <\/strong>Laboratory-engineered molecules that bind to precise disease targets, such as cancer cells or viral protein.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI-driven drug discovery:<\/strong> It involves leveraging big data and machine learning to predict how molecules interact within the body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for the Precision Biotherapeutics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rising Burden of Complex Diseases: Non-communicable diseases <\/strong>such as diabetes, cardiovascular illness, and cancers account for nearly <strong>65% of deaths in the country.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Precision: <\/strong>For cancer especially, conventional therapies (like chemotherapy) often cause significant collateral damage; targeted biologics or gene\/cell therapies can be more precise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The genetic diversity of India: <\/strong>India has a very genetically diverse population, which means \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d drugs may not work equally across sub-populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Local Solutions: <\/strong>Pharmaceuticals<strong> <\/strong>made and tested in foreign countries might not work effectively in the Indian context.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of Regulatory Framework:<\/strong> India lacks a clear regulatory framework for the different technologies that form the basis of gene and cell therapies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Most guidelines limit the use of emerging technologies for therapeutic purposes, but the scope of therapy is not defined.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cost &amp; Affordability: <\/strong>Precision biotherapeutics are expensive to develop and manufacture. This could make them inaccessible to large segments of India\u2019s population.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure &amp; Capacity: <\/strong>There is limited local manufacturing capacity for biologics and advanced therapies.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Efforts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Department of Biotechnology has identified precision biotherapeutics as <strong>one of the six focus areas<\/strong> under the<strong> Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment policy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mapping:<\/strong> Indian research institutions such as the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, and the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute are leading efforts to<strong> map genetic diversity and disease susceptibility across populations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the private sector,<\/strong> several biopharma companies are exploring precision therapies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The global precision medicine market is <strong>projected to exceed $22 billion by 2027.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s skilled workforce, data analytics strength, and cost advantage position it as a potential hub for affordable precision therapies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Without strict data protection and consent frameworks, genomic information could be misused.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s expertise in biologics manufacturing will further support the development of cutting-edge therapies for both domestic and international markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/156846\/OPS\/GSVF531PI.1+GSLF66DED.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Precision biotherapeutics bring together genetic science, molecular biology, and data analytics to design therapies that identify and rectify the cause of illness.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Need for the Precision Biotherapeutics<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Rising Burden of Complex Diseases: Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular illness, and cancers account for nearly 65% of deaths in the country.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Precision: For cancer especially, conventional therapies (like chemotherapy) often cause significant collateral damage; targeted biologics or gene\/cell therapies can be more precise.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The genetic diversity of India: India has a very genetically diverse population, which means \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d drugs may not work equally across sub-populations.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Local Solutions: Pharmaceuticals made and tested in foreign countries might not work effectively in the Indian context.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-11-2025\/precision-biotherapeutics\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59307"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59321,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59307\/revisions\/59321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}