A Cancer Genetics IPO From Accelerated Pharma
When we talk about cancer genetics, there are a lot of directions we can take so we need to define this broad topic. Firstly, it’s important to understand that cancer itself is a genetic disorder. What happens with cancer is that certain genetic mutations cause cells to start replicating uncontrollably resulting in tumors. How do these genetic mutations happen? Well, they are either inherited or acquired. How can we address prevention and treatment using genetics? There is a multitude of ways. One way would be to use gene editing to remove the “inherited” genetic defects that cause cancer. That’s the ultimate form of prevention. Make that isht extinct. But what about genetic mutations that you acquire from doing things like smoking or boozing too much? There’s always healthy living, but we hardly want to tiptoe through our lives just to arrive safely at death’s door. In order to visualize the ultimate end state of cancer genetics, we need to take a page out of science fiction.
We came across an interesting story recently about some Westerners who were attending a science fiction (sci-fi) fair in China. Sci-fi hasn’t been very popular in China in the past, so these inquisitive Western observers asked the Chinese why sci-fi now? The Chinese replied that they were promoting science fiction because they thought it would help spur innovation in disruptive technologies. You see, the Chinese had spent some time observing successful Western entrepreneurs, and most of these male “nerds” just loved sci-fi. It’s true man. The Chinese thought that if they promoted science fiction, they would then be able to innovate more. The idea is that we can often imagine an end state for cancer genetics by taking a page from sci-fi.
In this case, let’s imag
