by Michael Pisano, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Proteomics at Discovery Life Sciences
Since the dawn of the medical field, a biomarker has denoted any indicator of a patient’s medical state, like high blood pressure signifying poor cardiovascular health and risk for heart disease and stroke.1 Similarly, a protein biomarker is a molecular signal that can be indicative of a particular disease state. These protein biomarkers—often found in a patient’s blood, plasma, or tissue—can be classified as risk-factor, diagnostic, or prognostic biomarkers. Risk factor biomarkers can be used to identify patients who are likely to develop a disease, allowing for preventative treatment even before symptoms start. Diagnostic biomarkers can be used to detect early disease, classify disease subtypes, and measure responses to a therapeutic treatment. Finally, prognostic biomarkers can be used to predict disease progression, the likelihood of disease reoccurrence, and whether patients will respond to certain treatments.2 Ultimately, protein biomarkers can accelerate the drug development pipeline, shorten a patient’s diagnostic timeline, and provide insight into personalized therapeutics.3
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