Page 15 - Genomic Medicine in Emerging Economies

4 CHAPTER 1: Genomic Medicine in Developing and Emerging Economies

ARE THE APPLICATIONS OF GENOMICS
TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED TO HUMAN HEALTH?

Another important aspect that is relevant for developing countries and emerg-
ing economies is that aside from some of the well-known applications of
genomics in human health, genomics and other “omics” disciplines have
proven to be valuable tools that can be effectively applied to many sectors of
the economy, including agriculture and the food industry. In fact, genetics and
genomics has been successfully used in developing countries in the agrifood
sector, in particular, in the crop and livestock industries (Bohra et al., 2014;
Piccoli et al., 2017). The ability to become proficient and deploy omics offers
opportunities for emerging economies to advance knowledge in many sectors
of the economy as well as improve health risk identification, diagnoses, treat-
ment, and prevention of human diseases. The advantage of genomic technolo-
gies is that the same infrastructure (e.g., sequencers, etc.) that can be used to
develop projects in human health can also be used in other sectors of the econ-
omy. Some developed countries, like Canada, have advanced a multisector
model, where genomic technologies are used to promote social and economic
development (Jimenez-Sanchez, 2015). Through a coordinated investment
effort in Canada, genomics has become a major driving force that is helping
generate new products and services that are addressing global challenges affect-
ing the world’s population. These innovations are helping address health care,
food safety, and climate change issues in a more sustainable manner. Many
of these bioeconomy genomic innovations could eventually be applied in a
cost-effective manner in developing countries or emerging economies (see also
Chapter 10).

WHY SHOULD WE USE GENOMICS
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES?

When one takes into account that around 85% of the world’s population lives
in developing/resource-limited countries, it becomes apparent that the issue
of implementing genomic medicine practices in these settings is crucial. These
countries are all in desperate need of more effective and precise health care sys-
tems that will help all patients get a better diagnosis, more targeted treatment,
and, most importantly, shift from a disease-centered to a prevention-focused
system. As described in the following chapters, many countries are already
exploring different ways of implementing genomics and applying “omics”
technologies in their health care systems. The pace of implementation of
genomic medicine varies from country to country, depending on a number of
different parameters. These parameters include barriers—arising mainly from
the lack of highly qualified personnel—resources and infrastructure, poor tech-
nology and knowledge transfer strategies, and limited genomics knowledge