Immunoproteomics upstage genomics in I&I target discovery

Inflammation and immunology are on the brink of a target discovery revolution, and the outcomes could ripple through to almost all other disease areas. And though the human-first mantra is as true in I&I as everywhere, it is proteomics — and specifically immunoproteomics — over genomics providing the richest vein to mine.

Target discovery in this field has some fundamental differences from diseases, notably cancer, that have led in the human data revolution. In I&I the presence of a single genetic variant that drives a disease or protects against it is rare. That’s in part because the human immune system is shaped as much by environmental inputs as it is by genetics. In inflammatory diseases, heterogeneity in underlying biology and in symptoms is often the norm. ...