Future Therapeutics
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Future Therapeutics
Use the future to build the present
Future Therapeutics
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5.5SyntheticBiology5.4Science ofthe Originsof Life5.3FutureEconomics5.2Future ofEducation5.1ComplexSystemsScience4.4Democracy-affirming Technologies4.1Science-basedDiplomacy4.2Advances inScience Diplomacy4.3Digital Technologiesand Conflict3.7InfectiousDiseases3.6Solar RadiationModification3.5OceanStewardship3.4SpaceResources3.3Future FoodSystems3.2WorldSimulation3.1Decarbonisation2.6FutureTherapeutics2.5Organoids2.4ConsciousnessAugmentation2.3RadicalHealthExtension2.2HumanApplicationsof GeneticEngineering2.1CognitiveEnhancement1.6CollectiveIntelligence1.5AugmentedReality1.4BiologicalComputing1.3Brain-inspiredComputing1.2QuantumTechnologies1.1AdvancedAIHIGHEST ANTICIPATIONPOTENTIAL
5.5SyntheticBiology5.4Science ofthe Originsof Life5.3FutureEconomics5.2Future ofEducation5.1ComplexSystemsScience4.4Democracy-affirming Technologies4.1Science-basedDiplomacy4.2Advances inScience Diplomacy4.3Digital Technologiesand Conflict3.7InfectiousDiseases3.6Solar RadiationModification3.5OceanStewardship3.4SpaceResources3.3Future FoodSystems3.2WorldSimulation3.1Decarbonisation2.6FutureTherapeutics2.5Organoids2.4ConsciousnessAugmentation2.3RadicalHealthExtension2.2HumanApplicationsof GeneticEngineering2.1CognitiveEnhancement1.6CollectiveIntelligence1.5AugmentedReality1.4BiologicalComputing1.3Brain-inspiredComputing1.2QuantumTechnologies1.1AdvancedAIHIGHEST ANTICIPATIONPOTENTIAL

Emerging Topic:

2.6Future Therapeutics

    Associated Sub-Fields

    In wealthy countries, one third of the population between ages 40 and 75 currently die due to preventable diseases including cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and cancer. If the right medical information were available to act upon at the right time, it would be possible to predict and prevent many of these deaths. There are four broadly defined domains in which promising trials could transition drugs and devices into the clinic over the next five to 25 years: electrical therapies, data-led therapies, cell-based therapies, and targeted immune-therapies.

    These future therapeutics collectively represent the next wave of innovation in healthcare; some are already entering the market. Their growing success is down to a number of changes in the philosophy and practice of medicine. First, there has been a gradual move towards seeing medicine's goal as actively maintaining good health, rather than just fixing things when the body goes wrong. Second, a growing number of medical domains have begun to appreciate the complex properties of the body's own immune system, and to work with them. A third factor is the availability of increasingly sophisticated diagnostic and monitoring tools, which give previously inaccessible insights into the structure and function of the body's biology.

    Within 25 years, the convergence of advances in these domains will, it is hoped, turn medicine from a restorative into a preservative model.

    Selection of GESDA best reads and further key reports

    Electrical therapies are still a fast-moving field, but their efficacy and acceptance is growing, as highlighted by a recent review in STAT News.1 In 2002, Kevin Tracey published “the inflammatory reflex” to clarify the link between vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and its effects on the immune system.2 It remains a useful overview of the mechanisms of VNS's effects on the body downstream of the nervous system. Sixteen years later, Johnson and Wilson updated the field with “A review of vagus nerve stimulation as a therapeutic intervention”, an overview of FDA-approved vagus nerve modulation and its increasingly clear role beyond approved uses.3 Davenport & Kalakota highlighted the future of AI and medical data analysis in 2019.4

    In 2021, Arnout et al summarised the promise of the immunome,5 Kulkarni et al highlighted the current landscape of nucleic acid therapeutics,6 Damase, Tulsi et al examined the future of RNA therapeutics,7 and El Kadiry et al reviewed the field of cell therapy.8

    Emerging Topic:

    Anticipation Potential

    Future Therapeutics

    Sub-Fields:

    Electrical therapies
    Data-led therapies
    Cell, gene, biomimetic and nucleic acid therapies
    Immunome-based therapies
    Bringing the next wave of innovative therapies to market is a highly active area of research, with immunotherapies and cell or gene-based therapies already available for some diseases. This activity has driven down the anticipation scores, as experts predict immunonome-based therapies and data-led therapies will reach maturity within the next 10 years. Electrical therapies were identified as a potential area of focus in future therapeutics, as the field is less mature and has received less attention so far.

    GESDA Best Reads and Key Resources