We have been mining BiomarkerBase a bit more deeply to understand biomarker use across different therapeutic areas, and are frankly a bit surprised by how many biomarkers cross multiple TAs.
Of the 700 biomarker targets that we have been able to extract so far from approximately 1,600 clinical trials initiated over the last couple of years, less than 20% of biomarker targets are being used in only one therapeutic area.
A total of 134 biomarker targets are being used in 5 or more therapeutic areas, and 24 targets are being used in over half of all therapeutic areas. Across all 700 targets, the mean number of therapeutic areas in which each is being used is >3.
As would be expected from the above stats, there is considerable diversity of targets in each therapeutic area. While Oncology dominates with over 400 targets in clinical trial use, the average number of targets in each TA is well over 100.
Maintaining awareness of which biomarkers are being used in each therapeutic area, and how they are proliferating from one TA to another, is clearly becoming an increasingly challenging task.
Fortunately BiomarkerBase provides a consolidated way to maintain that level of awareness, and gives our users strategic control of the clinical biomarker landscape.