EP 118: The role of genetics in drug discovery and development with Dr. Matt Nelson
January 18, 2024
Join Patrick as he welcomes Dr. Matt Nelson, an influential voice in the field of genetics and drug development. Matt is currently the Vice President of Genetics and Genomics at Deerfield Discovery, as well as the CEO of Genscience. Prior to his current roles, Matt spent 15 years at GlaskoSmithKline (GSK) as a Principal Scientific Investigator and the Head of Genetics. Tune in for an interesting discussion on how genetic data has shaped drug discovery and development over the past decade, and what is needed for the next great leap forward.
Summary:
0:00 Introduction
5:45 Lessons learned from 15 years at GSK: How has genetics and drug discovery evolved over time?
8:10 Matt’s seminal 2015 paper: Quantifying the impact of human genetic evidence on the probability of success in drug development
11:40 Which types of genetic evidence are the best drivers of success in clinical trials?
13:30 Matt’s 2023 paper ‘Refining the Impact of Genetic Evidence on Clinical Success’
18:15 Comparing the value of scale in patient-reported data and genotype arrays (e.g. 23andMe) to deep clinical phenotypes and exomes (e.g. UKBiobank)
23:00 The next leaps forward in newborn and population screening
23:50 Targeting genetic subtypes in drug development
26:15 The role of polygenic risk scores in drug development and the early proof of concept studies
28:15 Proactive trial design to exclude participants who might experience safety risks
30:20 Gene editing technologies for rare Mendelian diseases and Verve Therapeutics approach to treating familial hypercholesterolemia
33:40 Looking forward: The role of drug development in preventing disease
35:50 Matt’s transition from GSK to Deerfield and GenScience
38:00 How the role of genetics and genomics in healthcare investment has changed over the past 10 years
39:00 Genscience’s vision to use genomic data for drug discovery and decision-making
43:25 Looking forward: Linking genetic data to electronic health records in the US and Europe
47:50 Closing Remarks