Five Disruptive Technologies Set to Transform Healthcare by 2020: IPO Filing Highlights AI, Immunotherapy, Liquid Biopsy, CRISPR, and 3D Printing
The healthcare industry is undergoing rapid transformation. Forbes has highlighted five major technologies poised to exert a profound impact on diagnostics, treatment, and care. VCBeat has compiled the details for you as follows:
I. Artificial Intelligence: A 42% compound annual growth rate, projected to reach $6.6 billion in 2021
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the use of machines or software to describe and mimic the intelligence of the human brain. In the field of healthcare, AI aims to improve patient outcomes by assisting medical practitioners. AI can thoroughly analyze and retain medical knowledge, thereby providing higher-quality clinical and pharmaceutical recommendations. AI has the capability to promptly provide physicians and researchers with clinically relevant, real-time, and valuable information stored in electronic health records.
Artificial intelligence is poised for widespread global adoption in the healthcare sector, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 42% in 2021. AI enables more optimal treatment outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, and eliminates unnecessary medical burdens through streamlined workflows and patient-centered care plans. These factors drive the extensive adoption and rapid development of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
It was projected that by 2020, certain chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, could be diagnosed within minutes using cognitive systems that identify distinctive physiological features and provide real-time 3D imaging. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence was expected to cover 90% of hospitals and insurance companies in the United States (and 60% globally). From another perspective, AI would also deliver more convenient, affordable, and high-quality services to 70% of patients.
With the support of platforms for digital image processing, pattern recognition, and machine learning-based artificial intelligence (AI), AI continues to provide more reliable and accurate medical imaging analysis. For instance, the startup Butterfly Network has successfully developed a handheld 3D ultrasound device capable of generating real-time 3D medical images, transmitting the relevant data to the cloud, and subsequently performing feature recognition and automated diagnosis. This type of clinical assistance provided by AI is poised to have a significant impact on the entire medical imaging diagnostics market.
Artificial intelligence can provide innovative, automated patient guidance and interactive approaches, such as leveraging advanced facial recognition and motion capture software to assess patient satisfaction, which has already begun to influence the process of observational treatment protocols. New entrants employing similar strategies are expected to rapidly capture this segment of the healthcare market.
IBM’s Watson Health recently acquired Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion, a move that has opened up a significant new frontier in healthcare data analytics and further strengthened IBM’s prominent position in the healthcare market.
II. Immunotherapy: Checkpoint Inhibitors Achieved a 139% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Immunotherapy focuses on the human immune system’s capacity to combat tumors, thus holding promise for improving cancer treatment regimens. Immunotherapy has pioneered advances in extending patient survival and enhancing accessibility for a broad population. For instance, therapeutic options for malignant melanoma remain extremely limited, failing to meet the medical needs of many patients. Each year, over 160,000 individuals are diagnosed with malignant melanoma, resulting in up to 40,000 deaths annually.
The future prospects of immunotherapy primarily hinge on its broad applicability across diverse patient populations. Once algorithms for tumor diagnosis are accurately established, the potential of this technology is limitless. Although checkpoint inhibitors currently dominate headlines in clinical treatment, numerous other promising approaches deserve significant attention, including the development of novel molecules such as chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), combination therapies integrating new and conventional drugs, optimization of dosing regimens, and vaccines. The market valuation of checkpoint inhibitors reached $3 billion in 2015 and is projected to surge to $21.1 billion by 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 139%.
III. Liquid Biopsy: Promising Non-Invasive Monitoring of Tumors
Liquid biopsy isolates cancer cells from blood samples, holding the promise of revolutionizing the entire field of cancer treatment by enabling non-invasive observation of cancer cells. Currently, monitoring evolving tumors requires repeated biopsies, which imposes a significant burden on patients. Liquid biopsy presents lucrative investment opportunities for diagnostic companies. Blood-based biomarkers, such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs), now demonstrate substantial potential for tracking and monitoring tumors without invasive procedures. It is estimated that liquid biopsy will become a valuable adjunct to tissue biopsy within two years. This technology is considered capable of providing more effective detection before CT scans reveal changes or before patients’ conditions further deteriorate. The greatest advantage of liquid biopsy lies in its ability to yield results through blood testing alone, unlike tissue biopsy, which requires the challenging task of first locating the target lesion.
IV. CRISPR/Cas9 (RT) Biological Systems: Disrupting Traditional R&D and Product Manufacturing Processes
CRISPR/Cas9, a gene-editing technology, enables precise, customized modifications to DNA while ensuring cost-effectiveness and efficiency. In short, this technology is poised to fundamentally disrupt traditional research and development as well as product manufacturing processes in the global life sciences sector. Emerging prominently in 2014, it sparked a race among major companies to research and develop this technology. Sangamo Biosciences has been the biggest beneficiary in the development of a related class of technologies—Zinc Finger Nucleases (for clinical therapeutic development). Other companies, such as CRISPR Therapeutics and Editas Medicine, have focused primarily on CRISPR technology and have raised millions of dollars in venture capital funding.
Widely sought-after human gene editing can be applied not only in the field of medical treatment but also in other areas, such as agriculture and specialty chemicals. The market application value of this technology has long surpassed its value in the research domain. Gene editing now has the capability to achieve the following:
Accurately Improve the Traits of Crops and Animals
Enhancing Yield and Nutritional Value of Food Crops
Developing crops capable of withstanding devastation, pests, and extreme weather conditions
Breeding Farm Animals with Greater Strength, Enhanced Disease Resistance, and Higher Nutritional Value
An analysis of NIH-funded projects noted that CRISPR/Cas9 saw extensive application in the astronomical field from 2013 to 2015. Funding in this area increased sevenfold from 2013 to 2014, and then tripled again from 2014 to 2015. Academic researchers are not the only end users of CRISPR/Cas9, as the technology also holds significant potential in clinical therapeutics. Surpassing many of its predecessors, such as RNAi, TALENs, and ZFNs, CRISPR/Cas9 is poised to become a multi-million-dollar emerging market in the coming years.
V. 3D Printing: A Technology Disrupting the Field of Organ and Tissue Repair
3D printing has seen widespread application in the healthcare and medical sectors due to its customizability. Personalized treatment can significantly reduce the number of surgical procedures and lower medical costs. Currently, this technology is extensively used in the production of bodily stents, prosthetics (orthopedic implants), and medical devices (such as dental implants and hearing aids). A field poised to transform the trajectory of 3D printing is bioprinting, which involves printing tissues such as livers, hearts, ears, hands, and eyes, or fabricating small living constructs with the functional capabilities of synthetic tissues and organs. This technology holds the potential to repair or replace traumatized tissues and organs during surgical interventions.
According to statistics, more than one million people worldwide require kidney transplantation; however, only approximately 5,000 of them receive transplants due to a severe shortage of donated organs. The scarcity of legally donated organs has led to the prevalence of illegal organ transplantation globally. The application of 3D printing technology in the medical field is expected to generate $6 billion in value by 2025, driven by prominent companies in this sector such as Arcam AB, Organovo Holdings Inc., Services Inc., and Stryker.
The above five technologies hold immense potential to completely disrupt the healthcare industry, thereby changing our world.
Translation: Zhou Qianyun
Editor: Li Simeng