Abstract
This is a historical moment on the path to genomic medicine — the point at which theory is about to be translated into practice. We have previously described human genome variation studies taking place in Mexico, India, Thailand, and South Africa. Such investments into science and technology will enable these countries to embark on the path to the medical and health applications of genomics, and to benefit economically. Here we provide a perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing these and other countries in the developing world as they begin to harness genomics for the benefit of their populations.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Family Experiences with Care for Children with Inherited Metabolic Diseases in Canada: A Cross-Sectional Survey
The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Open Access 20 July 2021
-
The elusive ideal of inclusiveness: lessons from a worldwide survey of neurologists on the ethical issues raised by whole-genome sequencing
BMC Medical Ethics Open Access 11 April 2017
-
From big data analysis to personalized medicine for all: challenges and opportunities
BMC Medical Genomics Open Access 27 June 2015
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Cohen, R. The world is upside down. New York Times [online], (2008).
Frew, S. E. et al. India's health biotech sector at a crossroads. Nature Biotechnol. 25, 403–417 (2007).
Frew, S. E. et al. Chinese health biotech and the billion-patient market. Nature Biotechnol. 26, 37–53 (2008).
Rezaie, R. et al. Brazilian health biotech — fostering crosstalk between public and private sectors. Nature Biotechnol. 26, 627–644 (2008).
Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka. Don't make a fetish out of R&D spending. SciDev.net [online], (2006).
Goldsbrough, D., Adovor, E. & Elberger, D. What Has Happened to Health Spending and Fiscal Flexibility in Low Income Countries with IMF Programs? Center for Global Development [online], (2007).
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. How does the United States Compare? OECD Health Data 2008 [online], (2008).
Decisions of the Executive Council. Eighth Ordinary Session 16–21 January 2006, Khartoum. African Union [online], (2006).
Juma, C., Serageldin, I. Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development Report of the High-Level African Panel on Modern Biotechnology. African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology [online], (2007).
Séguin, B., Hardy, B., Singer, P. A. & Daar, A. S. Genomics, public health, and developing countries: the case of the Mexican National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN). Nature Rev. Genet. 9 (Suppl), S5–S9 (2008).
Hardy, B., Séguin, B, Singer, P. A., Mukerji, M., Brahmachari, S. K. & Daar, A. S. From diversity to delivery: the case of the Indian Genome Variation initiative. Nature Rev. Genet. 9 (Suppl), S9–S14 (2008).
Hardy, B., Séguin, B, Ramesar, R., Singer, P. A. & Daar, A. S. South Africa: from species cradle to genomic application. Nature Rev. Genet. 9 (Suppl), S19–S23 (2008).
Séguin, B., Hardy, B., Singer, P. A. & Daar, A. S. Universal health care, genomic medicine and Thailand: investing in today and tomorrow. Nature Rev. Genet. 9 (Suppl), S14–S19 (2008).
Jimenez-Sanchez, G., Silva-Zolezzi, I., Hidalgo-Miranda, A. & March, S. Genomic medicine in Mexico: initial steps and the road ahead. Genome Res. 18, 1191–1198 (2008).
Sirugo, G. et al. A national DNA bank in The Gambia, West Africa, and genomic research in developing countries. Nature Genet. 36, 785–786 (2004).
Sgaier, S. K. et al. Public health. Biobanks in developing countries: needs and feasibility. Science 318, 1074–1075 (2007).
Matimba, A. et al. Establishment of a biobank and pharmacogenetics database of African populations. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 16, 780–783 (2008).
Ohnishi, Y. & Nakamura, Y. BioBank Japan project. Nippon Rinsho 63 (Suppl 12), 35–41 (2005).
Palmer, L. J. UK Biobank: bank on it. Lancet 369, 1980–1982 (2007).
Normile, D. Genetic diversity. Consortium hopes to map human history in Asia. Science 306, 1667 (2004).
[Editorial], Asia on the rise. Nature 447, 885 (2007).
Osama, A. Opportunities and challenges in South–South collaboration. SciDev.net [online], (2008).
Kelso, J. et al. eVOC: a controlled vocabulary for unifying gene expression data. Genome Res. 13, 1222–1230 (2003).
Daar, A. S. et al. The future of TDR: it needs to find its place in a changed global health landscape. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. (in the press).
Indian Genome Variation Consortium. Genetic landscape of the people of India: a canvas for disease gene exploration. J. Genet. 87, 3–20 (2008).
Höhler, T. et al. Differential genetic determination of immune responsiveness to hepatitis B surface antigen and to hepatitis A virus: a vaccination study in twins. Lancet 360, 991–995 (2002).
[No author listed]. India, China to step up cooperation in traditional medicine. The Economic Times, India [online], (2008).
Jayaraman, K. S. Database targets Parsi genes. Nature 446, 475 (2007).
International HapMap Consortium. A haplotype map of the human genome. Nature 437, 1299–1320 (2005).
The International HapMap Consortium. The International HapMap Project. Nature 426, 789–796 (2003).
Caulfield, T. et al. Research ethics recommendations for whole-genome research: consensus statement. PLoS Biol. 6, e73 (2008).
Séguin, B., Hardy, B. J., Singer, P. A. & Daar, A. S. Genomic medicine and developing countries: creating a room of their own. Nature Rev. Genet. 9, 487–493 (2008).
Knoppers, B. M., Fortier, I., Legault, D. & Burton, P. The Public Population Project in Genomics (P3G): a proof of concept? Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 16, 664–665 (2008).
Ginsburg, G. S. Genomic medicine: 'grand challenges' in the translation of genomics to human health. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 16, 873–874 (2008).
European Science Foundation. Populations surveys and biobanking: ESF science policy briefing 32 [online], (2008).
Goodsaid, F. & Frueh, F. W. Implementing the U.S. FDA guidance on pharmacogenomic data submissions. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 48, 354–358 (2007).
International Conference on Harmonisation. ICH Harmonised Tripartite Guideline Definitions For Genomic Biomarkers, Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacogenetics, Genomic Data And Sample Coding Categories E15. [online], (2007).
Masum, H., Daar, A. D., Al-Bader, S., Shah, R. & Singer, P. A. Accelerating health product innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization 2, 129–149 (2007).
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute. The Indian Council of Medical Research provided in kind co-funding for this research. The McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health, Program on Life Sciences, Ethics and Policy is primarily supported by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute, the Ontario Research Fund, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other matching partners are listed at The McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health web site. A.S.D. and P.A.S. are supported by the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine. P.A.S. is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Distinguished Investigator award.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Related links
Related links
FURTHER INFORMATION
Al-Mulla molecular pathology laboratory, University of Kuwait
Beijing Institute of Genomics, China
Emerging Regulatory Issues in Genomic Medicine conference overview
Genome-based Research and Population Health International Network (GRaPH-Int)
Human Genome Diversity Project of Iran (HGDPI)
International Conference on Harmonization (ICH)
McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health
National Institute for Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), Mexico
Pharmacogenetics for Every Nation Initiative (PGENI)
South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hardy, BJ., Séguin, B., Goodsaid, F. et al. The next steps for genomic medicine: challenges and opportunities for the developing world. Nat Rev Genet 9 (Suppl 1), S23–S27 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2444
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2444
This article is cited by
-
Family Experiences with Care for Children with Inherited Metabolic Diseases in Canada: A Cross-Sectional Survey
The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (2022)
-
Personalized Medicine, Precision Surgical Oncology and the Surgeon’s Role
Hellenic Journal of Surgery (2018)
-
The elusive ideal of inclusiveness: lessons from a worldwide survey of neurologists on the ethical issues raised by whole-genome sequencing
BMC Medical Ethics (2017)
-
From big data analysis to personalized medicine for all: challenges and opportunities
BMC Medical Genomics (2015)
-
Pediatric Clinical Drug Trials in Low-Income Countries: Key Ethical Issues
Pediatric Drugs (2015)