Precision medicine is in its nascent stages, but the field is rapidly growing, adding another catalyst to an already lengthy list for the ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector Fund (CBOE: ARKG).
One of the driving forces behind ARKG’s enviable long-term track records is its the manager’s ability to identify disruptive forces in the healthcare and genomics arenas. The intersection of precision medicine and genomics could be the next growth frontier for ARKG investors.
Put simply, precision medicine is the application of technology to biology, and it’s one of the most innovative ideas in the healthcare arena.
“Many precision-medicine techniques offer the potential for disease prevention, driving the potential for cost savings and patient-outcome improvements,” said Dr. Charles Kennedy, CEO and managing partner at Blue Ox Healthcare Partners, in an interview with Barron’s. “One example is pre-term birth, which represents more than $32 billion in health-care spending in the U.S.—in part due to its occurrence in one in every 10 pregnancies, and as many as one in every five pregnancies in the African American population. While many interventions are used to reduce the morbidity and mortality of pre-term birth, a fundamental problem that exists is the inability to identify women at risk for a pre-term delivery.”
Precise Medicine, Precise Benefits with ARKG
The intersection of precision medicine and genomics could be the next growth frontier for ARKG investors.
“Everything about health care is changing and will continue to do so. Where you receive your care is evolving based on convenience and integration with daily life,” said Kennedy. “For example, we’ve seen more medical retail locations in shopping environments. Additionally, technology that remotely monitors patients who might otherwise need to be in a care setting is changing.”
Gene sequencing and precision medicine are viewed as vital avenues for success in developing COVID-19 treatments. Bolstering the long-term case for genetic sequencing is the field’s ability to help healthcare professionals more accurately diagnose ailments, delivering a higher level of personalized patient care.
“While precision medicine might have only indirect impacts on issues such as access and costs, it transcends race by digitizing your biology and characterizing what makes you uniquely you,” notes Kennedy in the Barron’s interview. “Simply put, you have the biology to take advantage of a drug or other treatment, or you don’t. As such, more quantitative and discrete measures of disease and intervention opportunities make care more objective, less subjective, and more precisely aligned with the greatest likelihood of the best patient outcome, no matter who you are or where you come from.”
For more on disruptive technologies, visit our Disruptive Technology Channel.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.