Chicago, August, 2021. Much has been written about personalized or precision medicine. However, as healthcare has become more focused on the personal and people have more access to medical information, people are overloaded. To make sense of myriad biotech and medtech advances, the world now has a need for personalized medicine information.
More people than ever are discussing science–and not just the scientists and researchers themselves. One slight positive to come from the time of Covid-19 is the genuine interest in how viruses work. Of course that also comes with much discussion on the merits or issues regarding specific vaccines. This article will not argue the merits of any particular treatment, company, technology. Instead, we’ll focus on raising awareness of the importance of being able to explain complex scientific concepts in layman’s terms–that are accurate and useful in making personal decisions.
Years ago, much was made about the “Dr. Google” phenomenon. People were suddenly able to access a full range of information on any health issue. This is still true. Patients seeking information on a clinical trial, a medical device, or cutting edge diagnostics have 1,000 or more results in .00034 seconds. What happens next is a trip down the rabbit hole filled with academic papers written in the obtuse style of highly educated. There is a distinct gap between the real science and the popular interpretation. The need for genuine, fact-based information is real. It begins with the scientific community owning the responsibility to decipher their world-changing treatments, cures and diagnostics in a clear and authoritative presentation–or risk it being misinterpreted and causing more confusion.
Let’s start with a simple concept, commonly referred to as “mechanism of action”. In layman’s terms, the mechanism of action really just means how something works. It’s never that simple, of course, and in the exactitude of medicine we want the variables and conditions to be part of the definition.
According to one highly credible source of science news, Nature.com:
Mechanism of action describes the process by which a molecule, such as a drug, functions to produce a pharmacological effect. A drug’s mechanism of action may refer to its effects on a biological readout such as cell growth, or its interaction and modulation of its direct biomolecular target, for example a protein or nucleic acid.
For many people, this definition of this scientific term would require some serious Googling which would lead to more terms and concepts requiring additional definitions. Here are some simple phrases from Google related to a handful of the 99 companies currently developing vaccines for COVID-19. The search was for the ‘company name’ and ‘mechanism of action.’ The first two companies are in earlier stages of development than the latter two, which of course are household names.
Novavax Therapeutics
The company’s proprietary recombinant technology platform combines the power and speed of genetic engineering to efficiently produce highly immunogenic nanoparticles designed to address urgent global health needs.
Geovax Labs
MVA platform uses Vaccinia viruses re-engineered to express foreign genes that are vectors for production of recombinant proteins, the most common being a vaccine delivery system for antigens.
Moderna and Pfizer/Biontech
Nucleic acid-based messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that deliver the genetic information to produce the antigen, rather than the antigen itself.
Johnson & Johnson
Adenoviruses enter muscle cells and cells of the immune system, so viral proteins are produced by both cell types, causing direct processing of spike protein by immune system cells as well as activation of immune system cells by infected muscle cells.
Hopefully the point is clear–and made more clear by the confusing nature of all that copy. People need to make informed, personal decisions for themselves. Humans making medical decisions deserve things explained in human terms. Furthermore, to have humans accept ever-advancing products in biotech and medtech, the opportunity to answer their questions has never been more important.
