Biomarkers
What is a biomarker?
Biomarkers are measurable characteristics of the body. They can include measurements obtained noninvasively, such as blood pressure, or biological molecules tfound in the tissues, blood, or other body fluids.
Biomarkers help increase understanding of fundamental biological processes or how diseases progress and respond to treatment. They also allow doctors to gauge a patient’s health and monitor their progress. Some biomarkers are used to predict serious illnesses or diseases, or act as a way to identify when the disease is already present and to what extent.
Each biological system has specific biomarkers, and many are easy to measure, allowing them to be a part of routine health checks. For example, body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, and fasting glucose levels are all biomarkers that are common steps in regular health checks.
An ideal biomarker is:
- Safe and easy to measure
- Modifiable with treatment
- Cost efficient to follow up
- Consistent across gender and ethnic groups
How are biomarkers important for drug development?
Biomarkers are crucial to the drug development process because they allow a clinical trial team to see how an investigational drug affects the body or disease based on the biomarker levels. Biomarkers can be used to observe how the drug interacts with the body and the disease, how well the disease responds to treatment, and whether the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks and side effects.